ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Voting Behaviour

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the effect of weekend voting on turnout in areas where weekend voting pilots have taken place.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission has produced evaluation reports on the piloting of weekend voting at a number of local government elections in England since 2002. In every instance weekend voting has been piloted alongside other initiatives or as a form of advance voting. It has therefore not been possible for the Commission to make an accurate assessment of the specific impact of weekend voting on turnout.
	The Commission's pilot scheme evaluation reports can be found on its website at:
	www.electoralcommission.org.uk

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Parliamentary Scrutiny: EU Legislation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has to review the procedures for scrutiny of secondary legislation emanating from EU directives.

Helen Goodman: Secondary legislation arising from the implementation of EU directives is subject to the range of scrutiny processes to which all other secondary legislation is submitted, including examination by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and by other Select Committees of each House, and to approval in Parliament under the process laid down in the relevant primary legislation. Any secondary legislation implementing EU directives is subject to an additional requirement that it should be accompanied by a Transposition Note setting out how the relevant legislation is being transposed into UK law. There are no plans for a review.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Angling: Licenses

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the fees for  (a) non-migratory coarse and trout and  (b) salmon and sea trout rod licences were in each year since 1997, broken down by category of applicant.

Jonathan R Shaw: Rod licence duties for the years 1997-08 to 2008-09 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Non-migratory trout and coarse fish  Salmon and sea trout 
			   Full  Concession  Junior  8-day  1-day  Full  Concession  Junior  8-day  1-day 
			 1997-08 16.00 8.00 8.00 6.00 2.00 55.00 27.50 27.50 15.00 5.00 
			 1998-09 16.00 8.00 8.00 6.00 2.00 55.00 27.50 27.50 15.00 5.00 
			 1999-2000 18.00 9.00 9.00 6.50 2.50 57.00 28.50 28.50 16.50 5.50 
			 2000-01 19.00 9.50 9.50 6.50 2.50 58.00 29.00 29.00 16.50 5.50 
			 2001-02 20.00 10.00 5.00 6.50 2.50 59.00 29.50 29.50 16.50 5.50 
			 2002-03 21.00 10.50 5.00 6.50 2.50 60.00 30.00 30.00 16.50 5.50 
			 2003-04 22.00 11.00 5.00 7.00 2.75 61.00 30.50 30.50 18.00 6.00 
			 2004-05 23.00 11.50 5.00 8.00 3.00 62.00 31.00 31.00 19.50 6.50 
			 2005-06 23.50 11.75 5.00 8.00 3.00 63.50 31.75 15.88 19.50 6.50 
			 2006-07 24.00 12.00 5.00 8.00 3.00 65.00 32.50 16.25 19.50 6.50 
			 2007-08 24.50 12.25 5.00 8.00 3.00 66.50 33.25 16.63 19.50 6.50 
			 2008-09 25.00 16.75 5.00 9.00 3.50 68.00 45.00 5.00 22.00 7.50

Angling: Licensing

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the percentage increase was in the cost of a fishing licence for an  (a) adult and  (b) old age pensioner in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 28 April 2008
	The rod licence year starts on 1 April. Concessionary rates of rod licence duty do not apply to old age pensioners as a class, but rather to persons over the age of 65, Blue Badge holders and people in receipt of a disability living allowance.
	The Environment Agency is under no legal obligation to offer rod licences to any class of persons at concessionary duty rates. Also concessionary rates are offered not because of an inability to pay, but to reflect reduced opportunities for angling available to those who are disabled or infirm.
	Both the Agency and I recognise that the increase in concessionary duty rates for this year is significant. The Agency has publicly stated that it will use a significant proportion of the monies raised by the higher duty rates to improve access to angling for the disabled and senior anglers. I welcome this and will seek evidence from the Agency that it has honoured that commitment.
	The percentage increase in rod licence duties between 2007-08 and 2008-09 for annual licences at full and concessionary rates is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   2007-08  (£)  2008-09  (£)  Percentage increase 
			  Salmon and sea trout
			 Full 66.50 68.00 2 
			 Concessionary 33.25 45.00 35 
			 
			  Non-migratory trout and coarse fish
			 Full 24.50 25.00 2 
			 Concessionary 12.25 16.75 37

Departmental Civil Service Agencies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many civil service posts are to be transferred to the private sector as part of his Department's plans to outsource facilities management functions in the core Department and its agencies.

Jonathan R Shaw: We are unable to confirm precise numbers of civil service posts to be transferred at this time. We are still undergoing liaison with members of the DEFRA Network to establish this information.

Departmental Civil Service Agencies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultation with trade unions his Department has held in relation to plans to privatise the Department's facilities management functions.

Jonathan R Shaw: The DTUS was engaged immediately on adoption of the business case by DEFRA Management Board.
	Consultation continues on a monthly basis with the SRO and senior member of the project team. An additional liaison route is extended to DTUS representation via the project HR subgroup forum which deals with local issues.

Departmental Civil Service Agencies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the framework approach used in his plans to privatise his Department's facilities management functions.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA are not adopting a framework approach. We are currently engaged with the market with a view to securing a single national contract which will deliver:
	Meeting all of the workplace Support Strategic drivers.
	Assisting in meeting DEFRA's SOGE Targets.
	Providing investment to the estate in return for a long term contract.
	Thinking beyond the traditional parameters of FM.

Departmental Civil Service Agencies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to adopt a 15-year contract to cover the outsourcing of facilities management functions in his Department.

Jonathan R Shaw: If tender returns from the market support the cost benefit analysis and value for money can be achieved, a 15-year contract is under consideration.

Departmental Civil Service Agencies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what savings are expected as part of his Department's outsourcing of its facilities management functions; and if he will publish the business case for the proposed outsourcing.

Jonathan R Shaw: The initial business evaluation reported a potential savings of 7.7 per cent. over the term of the contract.
	Responses from the first stage of engagement with the market have confirmed that likely savings should be in the region of 6 to 10 per cent.
	We regret that publication of the business evaluation, at this time, would jeopardise the Department's commercial negotiations with the market.

Departmental Data Protection

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 120-21W, on departmental data protection, if he will include information assurance data on data loss incidents in previous years in his Department's next annual report.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179 and the written ministerial statement made my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 98WS. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data.
	The interim report of 17 December 2007 committed to put in place a programme to examine and improve data handling procedures. An update on this commitment will be included in the final report, expected in spring 2008, and this report will detail the information to be included by Departments on data loss in their annual reports.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many freedom of information requests made to his Department were  (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days,  (b) not answered and  (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the Act came into force.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has published two annual reports containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies (including central Government Departments) in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following address:
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/statisticsAndReports.htm
	The 2007 annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via the MOJ website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires public bodies to respond to written requests within 20 working days of receipt, but allows additional time for the consideration of the public interest in disclosing the requested information.
	The published reports provide statistics on the number of "non-routine" requests received during each period where: an initial response was provided within 20 working days; an initial response was given outside this time but a public interest test extension had been applied; an initial response was given outside this time and no public interest test extension was applied, and where no initial response had been given at the time the statistics were collected.
	The 2006 annual report provides statistics on the duration of the public interest test extensions in that year. Corresponding statistics for 2007 will be available when the 2007 annual report is published.
	Information requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered "in time" (ie meeting the deadline or with a permitted extension) in 2007 was 87 per cent.
	For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the Department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOI exemption or EIR exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 77, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to "information available by other means" are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Departmental ICT

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Northavon of 28 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1855W, on departmental ICT, what estimate his Department has made of  (a) the projected cost of installing and implementing and  (b) the likely annual saving in energy costs from (i) VISTA's in-built group policy options to enforce a default switch to the VISTA sleep mode after a pre-set elapsed time of inactivity and (ii) the Nightwatchman technology.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 21 April 2008
	Further to our response to the hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb) of 28 February 2008, detailed in  Official Report, column 1855W, on departmental ICT, we are now engaged in preparations to roll-out laptop VISTA devices with global pre-set power management settings.
	The installation and implementation of VISTA's power management tools are covered within the IT refresh that is currently being undertaken by IBM. Expenditure for the refresh is covered within the annual service charge paid to IBM, DEFRA's strategic IT partner. As such VISTA's power management tools are freely available for us to use and no significant extra expense has been incurred in using them to set up power management regimes across the Department.
	The power management settings will switch the laptops to 'hibernate' after a pre-defined period, in which mode the current desktop is copied to disk and deleted from memory. This mode draws no current, effectively switching off the PC, compared with 'sleep' mode that draws current to maintain the in-use desktop in memory.
	We are also ensuring in the same VISTA settings that monitors are similarly switched back to their standby power saving mode. In parallel we are increasing ad hoc inspections by our security guards who will be labelling devices found left switched on.
	A recent security guard survey indicated some 600 devices were left switched on across the main buildings on the London estate. Assuming these would all be desktops with flat screen monitors in idle mode (we do not allow active screensavers) with a combined power consumption of 53w (determined from recent power monitoring exercise) and that these devices were all left on every night and every weekend throughout the year, we are wasting some 200MwH per annum. Assuming 0.09p per KwH equates to a potential saving of nearly £20,000.
	As stated in the previous response, we are taking no further action in the implementation of Nightwatchman or any other power management software until we have assessed the outcome of our VISTA rollout and the savings that the power management settings bring on energy consumed by the Department's main offices.

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of  (a) salaries for permanent Civil Service posts,  (b) salaries for permanent non-Civil Service posts and  (c) payments to temporary or agency workers in his Department was in each month since May 2005.

Jonathan R Shaw: I can provide the following analysis of the costs of salaries for permanent civil servants and payments to temporary or agency workers within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from May 2005. The Department does not maintain permanent non-civil service posts.
	
		
			  Salaries of permanent civil servant posts and payments to temporary and agency workers, within Defra 
			  £000 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			   Salaries of permanent civil servant posts  Payments to temporary or agency workers  Salaries of permanent civil servant posts  Payments to temporary or agency workers  Salaries of permanent civil servant posts  Payments to temporary or agency workers 
			 April — — 25,563 845 26,828 464 
			 May 32,132 1,457 25,851 1,051 35,767 394 
			 June 33,179 1,508 26,929 730 35,710 291 
			 July 32,827 1,677 25,570 1,047 30,105 352 
			 August 32,858 1,711 25,449 900 33,950 458 
			 September 33,524 1,572 25,387 772 36,824 258 
			 October 32,603 1,513 25,349 551 29,372 664 
			 November 31,581 1,508 26,702 559 33,437 968 
			 December 29,687 1,734 75,265 539 36,223 272 
			 January 31,713 1,214 30,348 487 31,848 407 
			 February 33,110 1,594 32,582 489 32,017 370 
			 March 32,123 1,669 31,655 620 30,757 577

Departmental Redundancy

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were made redundant in his Department in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in redundancy compensation in each such year.

Jonathan R Shaw: This Department's 2007-08 voluntary early departure scheme is not a multi-annual scheme but was open for applications between September 2007 and January 2008 with provision set aside in this financial year for any payments to retirees, consequent on their departure under this scheme, which might fall in future years. It immediately followed a previous voluntary early departure scheme which ran from December 2006 to July 2007. We do have some records for 2005-06, however these are not as detailed as those for the last two years, so it is not possible to provide precise figures for this period.
	During financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08 a total of 751 people took up the option of voluntary early retirement or severance (133 in 2006-07 and 618 in 2007-08). The estimated cost to the Department for these two periods has been £14.8 million and £49 million, respectively, on the funding of voluntary early departures under either scheme. There are currently no plans to launch further voluntary early departure schemes.
	In RPA the estimated costs during the financial year 2006-07 was a credit of £74,000, which was due to a reduction in the provision for exit costs and was made up of five people. This was as a result of some staff from 2005-06 withdrawing from their arrangements. In 2007-08 14 staff left on the early departures scheme, with an estimated cost of £1,062,000.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in his Department and its agencies have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following table sets out the number of Defra staff attending each course during the last 12 months and the associated cost.
	
		
			  Course  Defra attendees  Cost (£) 
			 Influencing with Integrity 5 3,630 
			 Emotional Intelligence 0 0 
			 Counselling Skills for the Workplace 0 0 
			 Managing your Confidence 1 1,149 
			 Balancing Work/Life Realities 0 0 
			 Working Assertively 3 2,178

Electronic Government

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether mechanisms are in place to monitor the extent to which his Department's  (a) internal and  (b) external (i) correspondence and (ii) distribution of publications is carried out electronically.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department does not monitor the format used for internal correspondence but virtually all of it now takes place by email. The Department's Customer Contact Unit (CCU) manages and monitors incoming correspondence. For the last six months, statistics show that around 40 per cent. of this was received and answered through the email channel.
	The large majority of the Department's publications are, where practicable, made available electronically via the Department's website and/or from our distribution centre but this is not specifically monitored.

Horseracing: Death

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether racecourse administrators are required to report the deaths of racehorses on the racecourse to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Racecourse administrators are not required to report the deaths of racehorses on the racecourse to DEFRA.

Land: Contamination

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to issue guidance to local authorities on the management of contaminated land.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has been working closely with the Environment Agency, the Health Protection Agency, the Food Standards Agency and other stakeholders, on the complex issue of how technical guidance on the assessment of long-term health risks to exposure from contaminated land might be updated and improved. DEFRA plans to announce significant improvements soon.
	In the meantime, existing technical guidance produced by the Environment Agency continues to be available to help local authorities assess risks posed by contaminated land. This can be found on the Environment Agency's website. The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) has also published relevant guidance in "Planning Policy Statement 23: Planning and Pollution Control" which can be found on CLG's website.

Press

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of the press offices of  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies was in each year since1996-97; what the cost was in each quarter since 1 April 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA was established in 2001. The total annual cost of press officers in core DEFRA is tabulated as follows.
	
		
			  Core DEFRA 
			   Total expenditure (£) 
			 2001-02 20,369.42 
			 2002-03 394,339.22 
			 2003-04 2,306,706.08 
			 2004-05 2,395,451.69 
			 2005-06 3,526,933.30 
			 2006-07 2,652,535.98 
			 2007-08 2,693,941.29 
			 Total 13,990,276.98 
			   
			  2007-08 per quarter  
			 Quarter 1 697,736.26 
			 Quarter 2 754,699.23 
			 Quarter 3 804,084.54 
			 Quarter 4 437,421.26 
			 Total 2,693,941.29 
		
	
	The DEFRA press office provides services for the Central Science Laboratory, Government Decontamination Service, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Veterinary Laboratory Agency, and Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
	The total annual cost of press officers in each of the remaining DEFRA agencies of CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences) and the Rural Payments Agency, in each year since 2001 is tabulated as follows.
	
		
			  RPA 
			   Total expenditure (£) 
			 2001-02 5,661.40 
			 2002-03 5,529.80 
			 2003-04 6,166.20 
			 2004-05 6,013.60 
			 2005-06 40,500.00 
			 2006-07 131,100.00 
			 2007-08 141,357.80 
			 Total 336,328.80 
			   
			  2007-08 per quarter  
			 Quarter 1 29,280.00 
			 Quarter 2 8,640.00 
			 Quarter 3 63,200.00 
			 Quarter 4 40,237.80 
			 Total 141,357.80 
		
	
	
		
			  CEFAS 
			   Total expenditure (£) 
			 2001-02 900 
			 2002-03 936 
			 2003-04 18,140 
			 2004-05 41,222 
			 2005-06 50,201 
			 2006-07 43,553 
			 2007-08 45,737 
			 Total 200,689.00 
			   
			  2007-08 per quarter  
			 Quarter 1 13,834.25 
			 Quarter 2 10,764.85 
			 Quarter 3 10,634.25 
			 Quarter 4 10,503.65 
			 Total 45,736.99 
		
	
	In addition to support from the DEFRA press office, Animal Health (formerly the State Veterinary Service) employs a head of communications and an external communications manager.

Press

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many press office staff were employed by  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies (i) in each year since 1996-97 and (ii) at the latest date for which information is available.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA was established in 2001. The number of press officers in core DEFRA is tabulated as follows, with the census point for the number of press officers taken as June for each year. The staffing numbers for the press office fluctuate during the course of any one year.
	The following figures exclude numbers for ancillary or support staff; numbers have varied, ranging from three to seven during the review period.
	
		
			  Staff numbers as at June  Press officers 
			 2001 22 
			 2002 22 
			 2003 22 
			 2004 18 
			 2005 24 
			 2006 24 
			 2007 20 
		
	
	The DEFRA press office provides services for the Central Science Laboratory, Government Decontamination Service, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Veterinary Laboratory Agency, and Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
	The number of staff employed in the Press Offices of each of the remaining DEFRA agencies of CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences) and the Rural Payments Agency, in each year since 2001 is tabulated as follows, with the number of ancillary support staff in brackets (the RPA did not have any ancillary staff associated with the press office).
	
		
			   Agency 
			   CEFAS  RPA 
			 2001 0.02 0.2 
			 2002 0.03 0.2 
			 2003 0.03 0.2 
			 2004 0.68 0.2 
			 2005 1.0 (0.16) 0.2 
			 2006 1.0 (0.24) 1.0 
			 2007 1.0 2.0 
		
	
	In addition to support from the DEFRA press office, Animal Health (formerly the State Veterinary Service) employs a head of communications and an external communications manager.
	The "White Book" of contacts in Government Departments and agencies contains listings for DEFRA and is updated twice yearly.

TRANSPORT

A12

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the current programme of A12 improvements will be completed in Essex; and what plans there are for a further programme of improvements to the A12 in Essex to provide for  (a) better safety and  (b) increased capacity.

Tom Harris: The A12/M25 Brook Street Interchange was opened on 10 March 2008. Major maintenance schemes are currently programmed to be undertaken at Kelvedon in 2008-09 and at Witham to Hatfield Peverel in 2009-10.
	Future major improvements of safety and capacity to the A12 are dependent on schemes being prioritised for funding by the East of England from its Regional Funding Allocation for major transport schemes, or from other sources.

A12: Accidents

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents there have been on the A12 and at junctions on the A12 in Essex which have resulted in serious injury or death over the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available; and how many people were  (a) seriously injured and  (b) died as a result of these incidents.

Tom Harris: The following table shows the number of people killed and seriously injured on the A12 in Essex over the past five calendar years. The Highways Agency does not currently hold any full accident figures for 2008.
	
		
			  Accidents A12 Essex 
			   Fatal  Seriously injured 
			 2003 4 39 
			 2004 4 65 
			 2005 6 58 
			 2006 5 41 
			 2007 4 24 
			 Total 23 227

Asphalt

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) quantity and  (b) type is of fossil fuels used to extract, refine and manufacture each metric tonne of road-quality asphalt used on roads.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally. The Highways Agency has developed a framework for calculating the carbon footprint across all of its operations, including asphalt, and this is being applied this financial year. We have asked the UK Roads Liaison Group to consider what further research and advice will be helpful to local authorities.

Asphalt

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the level of carbon dioxide emissions per metric tonne of road-quality asphalt from  (a) all stages of its manufacture for use on roads and  (b) the process of laying on to road surfaces in the latest period for which figures are available; and what assumptions are made in each calculation.

Rosie Winterton: No specific estimate has been made of the levels of carbon dioxide emissions associated with the asphalt used for roads. The Highways Agency is developing a whole life value assessment tool for highway pavements which will include carbon dioxide emission calculations. It plans to implement this tool as part of its Sustainable Development Action Plan. We have asked the UK Roads Liaison Group to consider what further research and advice will be helpful to local authorities.

Brussels

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what visits to Brussels were made by each Minister in her Department by  (a) Eurostar,  (b) commercial flights,  (c) other flights and  (d) other means of travel in 2007-08.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The then Minister of State for Transport, the hon. Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman) visited the European Parliament in Brussels in May 2007 and my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Transport (Ms Winterton) attended a meeting of the Transport Council in Brussels in November 2007. Both Ministers travelled by Eurostar.

Bus Services

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will introduce another Kickstart initiative to help the commercial bus industry to introduce new and enhanced services.

Rosie Winterton: We are keeping under review whether to hold a further competition for Kickstart funding against the background of the proposals contained in our consultation document 'Local Bus Service Support—Options for Reform', published on 13 March.

Bus Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she has taken to prevent bus companies changing their services to create more journeys within the national concessionary bus fare scheme process for remuneration per journey.

Rosie Winterton: The main principle which applies to reimbursement is that bus operators should be financially no better and no worse off as a result of taking part in concessionary travel schemes. Reimbursement paid to bus operators takes two forms: revenue forgone and additional costs.
	Revenue forgone is reimbursement of the fares operators would have received for existing passengers now travelling free. Here reimbursement is not based on the full commercial adult fare as, in the absence of a concession, discounted fares would be available at off-peak times.
	Additional costs are those associated with carrying people who are only travelling because of the concession. The operator only receives a payment to cover the marginal additional costs of carrying these extra passengers.
	As such, any rise in patronage as a result of the concession should be revenue neutral to operators.

Bus Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many journey changes to bus routes were notified by bus companies to the traffic commissioners in each of the last 48 months for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available on a monthly basis. The number of applications in Great Britain to vary the registration of a local bus service which were accepted by the traffic commissioners in the latest four years (ending 31 March) for which figures are available is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2003-04 9,976 
			 2004-05 9,613 
			 2005-06 9,426 
			 2006-07 8,109 
		
	
	Currently, around 23,000 registered bus services operate in Great Britain. This figure does not include local services provided wholly within London, which are not subject to registration by the traffic commissioners.

Bus Services: Concessions

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of national concessionary bus fares scheme passes applied for have been issued; and what percentage of the eligible population have applied for such passes.

Rosie Winterton: Responsibility for producing and issuing passes for the England-wide bus concession lies with local Travel Concession Authorities (mainly District Councils, non-metropolitan Unitaries and the Passenger Transport Executives). As such the Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of applications received. We do, however, have an estimate of the number of passes that suppliers expected to have to produce for local authorities in England outside London.
	By 1 April 2008, suppliers had produced 95 per cent. of the passes they expected to have to produce and had sent out over 80 per cent. to concessionaires. By 8 April, this had increased to 99 per cent. produced and sent out.
	In respect of eligibility, we estimate that around 11 million people in England are eligible for concessionary travel passes. By 8 April, around 6 million people outside London had applied for and received a new pass.
	In London, concessionaires who already have a pass do not need a new one, but need to have their existing pass re-stickered to show that they are eligible for the new England-wide concession. Around 800,000 people in London have had their passes re-stickered or (if they are a new applicant) received a new pass.

Bus Services: Pendle

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding has been given to Pendle council to pay for the implementation of the free nationwide bus travel scheme for the elderly; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Pendle borough council will receive special grant funding of £268,000 in 2008-09 for the improvement to statutory concessionary travel to England-wide, which was implemented on 1 April. This is in addition to its existing funding for concessionary travel which is provided through formula grant. In 2006-07, the latest for which we hold outturn data, Pendle borough council spent £1,152,000 on concessionary travel. As such the additional funding through a special grant represents an increase of 23 per cent.

Cycling: Children

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government have taken to encourage children to practise safe cycling.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 1 May 2008
	I announced on 17 March that we would be making funding of over £3 million available to local authorities to train nearly 80,000 schoolchildren to the Bikeability standard in 2008-09. This is in addition to the 46,000 children for whom we have already funded training via local authorities and School Sports Partnerships.
	Some of the local authorities receiving funding in 2008-09 are also investing their own money in Bikeability standard training to train a further 29,000 children. Other local authorities also provide Bikeability standard training as part of their normal programme without any DFT grant.
	We will make further funds available for cycle training in 2009-10 and 2010-11 to help meet our objective of providing cycle training for 500,000 children by 2012.
	We have also invested £18.4 million in Links to Schools which extends the National Cycle Network (NCN) from residential areas to schools. We have provided these routes to over 600 schools which encourages pupils to cycle to school by improving their safety. Further funds will be made available to achieve our aim of providing Links to Schools to 500 more schools by 2011.
	The Highway Code and Arrive Alive, the Highway Code for Young Road Users both give advice to child cyclists on the wearing of safety equipment such as cycle helmets and light-coloured or fluorescent clothing which makes them easier to see at night or in poor daylight by other road users.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 3 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1195W, on departmental internet: Wikipedia, whether former Ministers and special advisers in her Department have created or amended Wikipedia entries; and  (a) on which dates and  (b) from which IP range the amendments listed in the answer were made.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We have no central record of whether previous Ministers or special advisers have created or amended Wikipedia entries. Factual entries made by departmental officials were listed in my previous reply.

Departmental NDPBs

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which her Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 2007" identifies the following as the non-departmental public bodies (NDPB) that are sponsored by the Department for Transport. For each NDPB that has been identified, the number of people serving on the board has been stated.
	
		
			  Executive NDPB  Number of board members 
			 British Transport Police Authority 14 
			 Passenger Focus 14 
			 Railway Heritage Committee 16 
			 Northern Lighthouse Board 19 
			 Trinity House Lighthouse Service 8 
			   
			  Advisory NDPB (Total)  
			 Commission for Integrated Transport 18 
			 Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee 16 
			   
			  Tribunal NDPB (Total)  
			 Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain 0

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many working days were lost by her Department due to stress-related illness in each of the last 24 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the 12 months to February 2008, the Department for Transport has experienced a 13 per cent. drop in total stress-related absence. Individual monthly figures are as follows:
	
		
			  Month  Total 
			  2006  
			 April 2,479 
			 May 2,794 
			 June 2,935 
			 July 3,105 
			 August 3,456 
			 September 3,359 
			 October 3,431 
			 November 3,426 
			 December 2,876 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 3,416 
			 February 3,067 
			 March 3,072 
			 April 2,794 
			 May 3,317 
			 June 3,266 
			 July 3,634 
			 August 3,880 
			 September 3,215 
			 October 3,430 
			 November 3,451 
			 December 2,746 
			   
			  2008  
			 January 2,924 
			 February 2,660 
			 March (1)2,053 
			 (1) Excludes the central Department. Stress-related absence in the central Department in February 2008 was 163 days.

Local Authorities: Manpower

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether local authorities have recruited additional staff to take account of the change in April in their responsibilities under parking regulations.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally.

M1: Road Works

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the roadworks between junctions 6 and 10 of the M1 motorway to be completed; and when she expects all lanes on this part of the road to be open.

Tom Harris: Work on M1 junction 6a to 10 widening is progressing well and the scheme is due for completion to programme in December 2008. The works are being constructed in two sections, section one from junction 10 to approximately 2.5 km south of junction 9; section 2 from 2.5 km south of junction 9 to junction 6a M25.
	Highways Agency opened section one to four lanes in both directions over the Mayday bank holiday weekend, initially to 50 mph to trial motorway communications. The speed limit will be increased to the national limit, 70 mph, when commissioning of motorway communication equipment is complete. This is expected to be before the end of May.
	Section two will remain under traffic management until the end of the year when it is intended that both carriageways will be running four lanes in both directions in time for the Christmas and new year holidays.

M1: Whipsnade

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) cameras and  (b) other equipment are installed on the gantries recently erected in the vicinity of junction 9 of the M1 motorway; what purpose each piece of equipment serves; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: (a) There are currently no cameras mounted on gantries in the vicinity of M1 junction 9. Close circuit television (CCTV) cameras used by the Eastern Regional Control Centre (ERCC) are located, one northbound and two southbound, on 15 m high masts adjacent to the gantries. ERCC use the images from CCTV to monitor local traffic conditions and to direct Highways Agency Traffic Officers to incidents and breakdowns.
	 (b) The following equipment is mounted on gantries in this area:
	Advanced Motorway Indicators (AMI)—Located over every lane and used to control speeds.
	Enhanced Message Sign (EMS)—Located over the hard shoulder and used to notify drivers of traffic conditions, weather messages, campaign messages etc.
	In addition standard lane indicators which display speed and fog warnings are mounted on 3 m high posts on the entry (on) and exit (off) slip road verge.

Piracy

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance her Department issues to UK-registered ships operating in or passing through areas where there is a risk of piracy on  (a) intervention in and  (b) taking active steps to prevent acts of piracy.

Jim Fitzpatrick: UK registered vessels are issued with advice by the Department for Transport on taking active steps to counter piracy, armed robbery and other acts of violence against merchant shipping. This is set out in "maritime guidance note" MGN 298(M), a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	In addition to this advice, the Department issues specific tailored advice regarding particular piracy hot spots. This is based on intelligence and threat assessment, and is of a sensitive nature. The Department has regular dialogue with the industry to consider further practical measures, where appropriate.
	The Department does not issue guidance to UK registered vessels on intervening in acts of piracy.

Roads

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what her Department's definition is of a pothole with reference to roads maintained by  (a) the Highways Agency and  (b) local authorities;
	(2)  what statistics her Department collates on the number of potholes in roads.

Rosie Winterton: Statistics on the condition of roads in England and Wales are published annually in the National Road Maintenance Condition Survey Statistics Bulletin. Abrupt changes in the level of the road such as potholes are only one component of the overall condition of the highway and are not separately defined.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras there were in each local authority area in each year since 2001.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 1 May 2008
	The Department for Transport only holds information about the number of safety camera sites (covering both fixed and mobile camera enforcement) operating within the national safety camera programme for England and Wales which ended on 31 March 2007. The following table shows the number of speed camera sites operating within the national programme within each year using the 'date established' supplied by the safety camera partnerships. Different areas entered the national programme on different dates, and in many cases had established camera sites before joining the programme which are not shown in the table.
	Since 1 April 2007, the deployment of safety cameras has been the responsibility of individual local partnerships. The number of cameras in place since then will therefore be a matter for each individual partnership.
	
		
			  Camera sites by area and year 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Avon and Somerset 104 189 228 247 247 247 247 
			 Bedfordshire 30 88 90 95 114 114 114 
			 Cambridgeshire 36 56 67 74 88 92 92 
			 Cheshire 18 26 54 64 75 80 80 
			 Cleveland 34 38 47 52 52 54 54 
			 Cumbria 0 0 35 35 39 44 44 
			 Derbyshire 45 73 108 123 127 128 128 
			 Devon and Cornwall 55 95 105 124 145 147 147 
			 Dorset 29 51 92 99 102 105 105 
			 Essex 117 126 159 168 215 220 220 
			 Gloucestershire 29 29 60 72 72 72 72 
			 Greater Manchester 67 79 135 153 261 268 271 
			 Hampshire 19 22 50 61 66 68 68 
			 Hertfordshire 23 23 51 63 80 94 95 
			 Humberside 0 0 64 77 81 81 82 
			 Kent and Medway 38 62 96 118 126 129 129 
			 Lancashire 63 150 268 338 344 345 345 
			 Leicestershire 7 65 77 83 83 88 88 
			 Lincolnshire 25 38 48 57 60 61 61 
			 London 294 305 323 352 403 439 439 
			 Merseyside 0 0 0 0 24 46 51 
			 Mid and South Wales 74 266 327 353 354 355 355 
			 Norfolk 8 14 24 29 31 37 37 
			 North Wales 27 28 66 72 73 73 73 
			 Northamptonshire 26 28 35 39 77 84 84 
			 Northumbria 34 34 103 121 121 126 126 
			 Nottinghamshire 10 44 44 53 55 62 62 
			 South Yorkshire 35 112 119 119 119 119 119 
			 Staffordshire 54 55 65 81 98 98 98 
			 Suffolk 1 3 47 55 55 55 55 
			 Surrey 15 16 16 16 21 23 30 
			 Sussex 25 50 58 69 77 78 81 
			 Thames Valley 213 266 269 274 275 275 275 
			 Warwickshire 8 20 21 34 34 37 37 
			 West Mercia 0 0 40 53 56 60 63 
			 West Midlands 97 100 116 141 155 161 161 
			 West Yorkshire 6 27 47 79 83 86 86 
			 Wiltshire 6 23 50 62 62 63 63 
			 Grand total 1,672 2,601 3,604 4,105 4,550 4,714 4,737

Tintwistle Hollingworth and Mottram Bypass

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for how many days the Mottram bypass public inquiry has sat since June 2007.

Tom Harris: Since June 2007, the A57/A628 Mottram Tintwistle bypass public inquiry sat for 15 days. These dates are listed as follows:
	Day 1: 26 June 2007
	Day 2: 3 July 2007
	Day 3: 4 July 2007
	Day 4: 5 July 2007
	Day 5: 6 July 2007
	Day 6: 10 July 2007
	Day 7: 11 July 2007
	Day 8: 12 July 2007
	Day 9: 4 September 2007
	Day 10: 5 September 2007
	Day 11:6 September 2007
	Day 12: 11 September 2007
	Day 13: 19 September 2007
	Day 14: 6 November 2007
	Day 15: 18 December 2007

Tintwistle Hollingworth and Mottram Bypass

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to  (a) her Department and  (b) the Highways Agency of the Mottram bypass public inquiry has been.

Tom Harris: All of the costs for this scheme lie with the Highways Agency. The A57/A628 Mottram Tintwistle bypass public inquiry started in June 2007. Since award of contract in August 2004 the scheme has incurred costs of £15,000,000. This includes design costs for the scheme, publication of draft orders, preparation and publication of the environmental statement, traffic modelling, legal costs, Highways Agency staff costs and the public inquiry. The specific costs for the public inquiry itself are not recorded separately.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Allotments: Local Authorities

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure that local authorities make provision for allotment sites.

Iain Wright: The provision of allotments is the responsibility of local authorities. Section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 places a duty on local authorities (except for inner London boroughs) to provide allotments where they perceive a demand for them in their area. Furthermore, 'Planning Policy Guidance Note 17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation, 2002' requires local authorities to make provision for all types of open space and requires them to undertake robust assessments of local needs and audits of existing open space, to establish standards for new provision. By implementing the guidance in PPG 17, local authorities should make adequate provision for allotments.
	A revised good practice guide, "Growing in the Community," was published by the Local Government Association in March 2008, and includes a section on allotment provision. A free copy was sent to all local authorities.

Departmental Marketing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the advertising and marketing budget of her Department and each of its agencies is for  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department does not have a central advertising and marketing budget.
	The final evaluation of the public information campaigns carried out by the Department in 2007-08 is currently being prepared and will be published in the Department's annual report, which will be placed in the Library of the House.
	Information on our agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental NDPBs

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which her Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Cabinet Office publication 'Public Bodies 2007' lists the number of people serving on the boards of public bodies as at 31 March 2007. These figures are broken down by individual Departments. 'Public Bodies 2007' can be downloaded from
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp.
	Copies are also available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Publications

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1393-4W, on departmental publications, if she will place in the Library a copy of  (a) the contents page,  (b) the guidance on travel and  (c) the guidance on bonuses from her Department's staff handbook.

Parmjit Dhanda: A copy of the staff handbook contents page, guidance on travel and subsistence and guidance on bonuses has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time posts were filled on a temporary basis for a period in excess of six months in her Department in each of the last three years.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department makes use of temporary staff from employment agencies to fill certain posts. Often such posts require specialised skills. Our historical records of this practice are not in a format that enables us to provide the requested information.
	In addition, permanent civil servants are on occasion asked to fulfil a role at a more senior level on a temporary basis. In such instances, a temporary responsibility allowance is awarded. Because of the way that data have been entered on our payroll system, the information requested in relation to periods of temporary responsibility, which subsequently last for longer than six months, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Digital Mapping

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1397W, on digital mapping, who the members of the Expert Group on the Digital National Framework are.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Digital National Framework Expert Group meets three times a year to coordinate its activities. The Expert Group distribution list presently comprises over 60 representatives from 45 organisations, of which 29 are private sector or commercial organisations. Some representatives participate in a corresponding role only. Generally there are around 20 participants at an Expert Group and members host the meetings. The agenda and minutes of the meeting are posted on the DNF website at:
	http://www.dnf.org/Pages/about%20dnf/EGroup.asp

Digital Mapping

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1397W, on digital mapping, when the Expert Group on the Digital National Framework last met.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Expert Group on the Digital National Framework last met on 5 March 2008. The meeting was hosted by Natural England in London and the minutes will appear on the DNF website
	http://www.dnf.org/Pages/about%20dnf/EGroup.asp
	once agreed by participants.

Fire Services: Insurance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what insurance protection for injury or death is provided for firefighters in relation to  (a) standard fire and rescue work and  (b) terrorist incidents.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Firefighters' Compensation Scheme (England) Order 2006 provides for lump sum payments to be made in respect of firefighters who die or are permanently incapacitated on duty. A fixed amount equal to five times the annual pensionable pay of a firefighter with four years' service is paid if the person leaves dependants. £950 is paid if there are no dependants.
	The scheme also provides for the payment of injury awards to firefighters injured on duty who are permanently disabled in the performance of duty. The award is based upon an assessment of loss of earnings capacity.
	The scheme is non-contributory.

Floods: Repairs and Maintenance

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1405W, on floods: repairs and maintenance, if she will break down by local government area the indicated number of households which are still displaced following the summer floods of 2007.

John Healey: The following table breaks down the number of displaced households by local authority area. The table is based on the best information available from local authorities in March 2008, which in some cases were estimates or figures provided in January. We expect figures provided in January to have decreased, and this is reflected in our estimates.
	
		
			  Local authority  Households displaced 
			 Amber Valley District (1)9 
			 Barnsley District 19 
			 Basingstoke and Deane District (1)10 
			 Birmingham District 8 
			 Cheltenham District 63 
			 Chesterfield District 88 
			 City of Kingston upon Hull 2,363 
			 Cotswold District 193 
			 County of Herefordshire 20 
			 Doncaster District 92 
			 East Lindsey District (1)106 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1,312 
			 Forest of Dean District 17 
			 Gloucester District 176 
			 Harrogate District (1)8 
			 Kirklees District (1)17 
			 Leeds District 2 
			 Lincoln District (1)7 
			 Malvern Hills District 100 
			 Newark and Sherwood District 19 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme District (1)7 
			 North East Lincolnshire (1)2 
			 North Lincolnshire 105 
			 North Tyneside District (1)1 
			 North Wiltshire District 35 
			 Oxford District 35 
			 Rotherham District 11 
			 Sheffield District (1)13 
			 South Shropshire District 16 
			 Stratford-on-Avon District 200 
			 Stroud District 22 
			 Swindon (1)74 
			 Tewkesbury District 382 
			 Vale of White Horse District 141 
			 Wakefield District 90 
			 Warwick District 14 
			 West Berkshire 357 
			 West Lindsey District 44 
			 West Oxfordshire District 204 
			 Wokingham 70 
			 Worcester District 1 
			 Wychavon District 256 
			 Wyre Forest District 1 
			 Total 6,710 
			 (1) January figures

Housing: Derelict Land

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the figures referred to in the answer of 22 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1387-88W, on brownfield development are for the most recent year available, broken down by  (a) region,  (b) county and  (c) local authority.

Iain Wright: holding answer 25 April 2008
	Information on the percentage of new dwellings on previously-developed land (also referred to as 'brownfield' land) as a proportion of all new dwellings including conversions, the percentage of new dwellings on previously-residential land as a proportion of all dwellings on previously-developed land and the percentage of new dwellings on previously-residential land as a proportion of all new dwellings for 2006 has been deposited in the Library of the House.
	Development on previously-residential land includes conversions, sites where dwellings are demolished and replaced as well as building on back gardens and other types of development. Local authorities have always had the power to turn down applications for inappropriate housing development in back gardens and new planning rules that came into force in April have strengthened those powers further.
	In particular, councils have now been given the ability to set local policies that specifically protect gardens and to separate gardens out from their wider brownfield development targets.

Land Use: Databases

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wirral South of 3 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1274W, on allotments, whether the Green Space Database will include information on  (a) land with green belt designation,  (b) green field land,  (c) playing fields and  (d) gardens;
	(2)  what the planned expenditure is on the Green Space Database; and when it is expected to go live.

Iain Wright: The contract for the first phase of the green space database was awarded, following an open competition, for £66,163. It is expected to go live in summer 2008. The database's focus is on green spaces. It will not identify whether these are designated as green belt or green field land. It will include data on playing fiends and gardens as well as allotments, public parks and recreational woodlands.

Local Authorities: Assets

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority assets have been transferred to community control since the publication of the Communities in Control pamphlet.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Authorities: Closed Circuit Television

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) guidance has been produced and  (b) amendments are planned on the use of CCTV by local authorities.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	No guidance has been produced, nor have any amendments been planned to local authorities on the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV). The Home Office published the National CCTV Strategy last year, and a National CCTV Strategy Programme Board has been established. The programme board is reviewing the recommendations of the strategy and Ministers will have the opportunity to approve the work of the board later this year.

Members: Correspondence

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department will respond to the letter of 21 December 2007 from South Cambridgeshire district council on the Formula Grant Distribution for 2008-09 and 2010-11.

Parmjit Dhanda: A response to South Cambridgeshire district council's letter of 21 December 2007 on the Formula Grant Distribution was sent to Councillor Ray Manning on 18 February 2008.

Property: Databases

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how frequently the National Land and Property Gazetteer is updated;
	(2)  what the cost to  (a) the public purse and  (b) local authorities has been of creating the National Land and Property Gazetteer.

Iain Wright: The National Land and Property Gazetteer is maintained by the Improvement and Development Agency. It is not for Communities and Local Government to comment on it. Further information can be found on the internet at:
	www.nlpg.org.uk.

Thames Gateway Delivery Corporation: Olympic Games 2012

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the remit of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation has been amended following the award of the 2012 Olympic Games to London.

Caroline Flint: The remit of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, set up in 2004, is to drive forward the regeneration of the largest concentrations of brownfield land in the capital, in the Lower Lea Valley and Barking Riverside. This area now includes the main Olympic Park site at Stratford. Because of the unique nature of the Olympic Park, a specific organisation, the Olympic Delivery Authority, has been set up to deliver it, and the legacy transformation of the Olympic site is being co-ordinated by the London Development Agency, who own the land. This however is a small part of the overall London Thames Gateway Development Corporation designated area. The Olympic site is anticipated to deliver in the region of 9,000 new homes. The substantial task of regenerating the remainder of the Lea Valley, which is anticipated to deliver some 25,000 new homes, remains with the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation and no change in their remit is necessary. The Development Corporation works closely with key stakeholders and it is anticipated that it will also work with the HCA, which will, once it is set up, have a leading role in bringing together the delivery of regeneration and housing.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Census

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what changes in  (a) presentation and  (b) questions are planned for the 2011 census in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: These are transferred matters and therefore the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Administration.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many freedom of information requests made to his Department were  (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days,  (b) not answered and  (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the Act came into force.

Paul Goggins: The Ministry of Justice has published two annual reports containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies (including central Government Departments) in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following address:
	http: //www. dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/statisticsAnd Reports.htm
	The 2007 annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via the MOJ website:
	http://www .justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformation quarterly.htm
	The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires public bodies to respond to written requests within 20 working days of receipt, but allows additional time for the consideration of the public interest in disclosing the requested information.
	The published reports provide statistics on the number of "non-routine" requests received during each period where: an initial response was provided within 20 working days; an initial response was given outside this time but a public interest test extension had been applied; an initial response was given outside this time and no public interest test extension was applied; and where no initial response had been given at the time the statistics were collected.
	The 2006 annual report provides statistics on the duration of the public interest test extensions in that year. Corresponding statistics for 2007 will be available when the 2007 annual report is published.
	Information requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered "in time" (i.e. meeting the deadline or with a permitted extension) in 2007 was 89 per cent.
	For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the Department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOI exemption or Environmental Information Regulation (EIR) exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 46, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to "information available by other means" are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Departmental Telephone Services

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any telephone numbers for use by the general public in Northern Ireland to contact offices under his Department's control are premium rate.

Shaun Woodward: There are no premium rate telephone numbers used by the general public to contact the Northern Ireland Office or its executive agencies.

Sexual Offences: Foreigners

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many foreign nationals were  (a) arrested and  (b) convicted of sex-related crimes in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage of the total number of those (i) arrested and (ii) convicted of such crimes foreign nationals represented.

Paul Goggins: The total number of persons arrested for sexual offences during the financial year 2007-08 in Northern Ireland was 855,110 (13 per cent.) of which were foreign nationals.
	Of the 161 persons convicted for sexual offences during the calendar year 2006 (the latest year for which figures are available), six (4 per cent.) were foreign nationals.
	Conviction data are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
	It is not possible routinely to reconcile arrest data from PSNI with conviction data as PSNI data denote each offence as it has been initially recorded and this may differ from the offence for which a suspect or suspects are subsequently proceeded against in the courts.

Stratagem

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments the  (a) Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and  (b) Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland made to Stratagem in each of the last five years; and on what date each payment was made.

Paul Goggins: The following tables give the amounts and dates of payments made to Stratagem by  (a) the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and  (b) Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, over the last five years.
	
		
			  (a) Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission 
			   Amount (£) 
			 7 February 2003 176.25 
			 6 August 2003 293.75 
			 3 November 2005 352.50 
			 28 December 2006 411.25 
			 14 August 2007 411.25 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland 
			   Amount (£) 
			 3 December 2004 292.58 
			 13 February 2008 587.50 
			 12 March 2008 587.50 
			 8 April 2008 587.50

HEALTH

Hepatitis C

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C.

Ivan Lewis: We recognise the importance of hepatitis C as a public health issue. This is why we have set a clear national framework to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C in the 'Hepatitis C Action Plan for England'.
	To support this, we are running a national hepatitis C awareness campaign for health care professionals and the public and funding improved epidemiological surveillance by the Health Protection Agency.

Infection Control

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve infection control in the NHS.

Ann Keen: The national health service have made significant reductions on infections, and are on track to halve the methicillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rate by the end of March 2008. MRSA infections are down 30 per cent. and  C. difficile infections, for 65s and over, are down 23 per cent. on the same quarter in the previous year.
	However, we are not stopping there. The NHS will be expected to maintain improvements on MRSA and deliver a 30 per cent. reduction in  C. difficile infections by 2010-11.
	We have a strategy we know will reduce infection and equipped the NHS with a toolkit to deliver it. We have invested the money—over £270 million of additional investment per year by 2010-11. We have made proper infection control a legal requirement and are inspecting all trusts against this.

Premature Babies

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent changes there have been in the survival rate of premature babies born before 24 weeks.

Ann Keen: In 2005, 435 babies were born in England and Wales with a gestational age below 24 weeks. Of these, 383 (about 88 per cent.) died before their first birthday. No further information is currently available.

Primary Care

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next expects to meet GPs from East Anglia to discuss primary care.

Ben Bradshaw: The Secretary of State regularly meets general practitioners (GPs) and their representatives.
	The national health service in the east of England is committed to delivering the strategic health authority's 'Improving Lives; Saving Lives' programme, which aims to ensure GP practices improve access.

MP3 Players

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research into the effects on hearing of the use of personal MP3 players.

Ivan Lewis: It is already widely understood that playing personal audio equipment too loud can damage your hearing.
	The European Commission has asked the scientific committee on emerging and newly identified health risks for an opinion on the potential health risk of exposure to noise from personal music players and mobile phones which include a music playing function.

Water

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues on the recommended daily intake of water.

Ann Keen: In temperate climates, such as the UK, the UK Government advise that six to eight glasses (about 1.2 litres) of water, or other fluids, should be consumed every day to prevent dehydration. This amount should be increased when the weather is warm or when exercising.

GP-led Health Centres

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation is being carried out at the local level on the introduction of GP-led health centres.

Ben Bradshaw: Primary care trusts are currently talking to local people and NHS staff about how new GP-led health centre services are best provided to meet local needs. The precise nature of each consultation in each area will vary depending on local circumstances.

Pharmacy White Paper

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the Pharmacy White Paper.

Ben Bradshaw: We have received broad support for our proposals set out in "Pharmacy in England, Building on strengths, delivering the future" from the national health service, pharmaceutical and medical representatives. Dispensing doctors have expressed some concerns about aspects of our proposals. We are currently holding public events to hear views on the White Paper generally, and on some key proposals for structural change on which there will be full consultation later this summer.

Preventive Health Check-ups

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to implement the preventive health check-up policy announced by the Prime Minister.

Ann Keen: The Prime Minister announced in January the Government's intention to develop a programme to assess people's risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. "Putting Prevention First", published on 1 April 2008, showed that a vascular checks programme for those aged between 40 and 74 would be clinically and cost-effective. We are now working with stakeholders to design the programme for delivery from 2009-10.

Health Inequalities

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress his Department has made in tackling health inequalities.

Ivan Lewis: In March 2008, the Department published "Tackling Health Inequalities: 2007 Status Report on the Programme for Action", which showed progress against a range of cross-government health inequalities measures.

Acute Beds

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many delayed transfers of care from acute beds there have been in each NHS trust in the last 12 months; and what proportion of all transfers of care from acute beds this represents in each trust.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Delayed transfers of care from acute beds, England, 2007-08 
			  Org code  Org name  Delayed transfers of care from acute beds 
			  England 2,232 
			
			 RTQ 2gether NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RTV 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 REM Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 11 
			 RCF Airedale NHS Trust 7 
			 RTK Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust 8 
			 RVN Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 5C2 Barking and Dagenham PCT 0 
			 RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 60 
			 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 8 
			 5A9 Barnet PCT 0 
			 RRP Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust 0 
			 RFF Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 8 
			 RNJ Barts and The London NHS Trust 8 
			 RDD Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 7 
			 RN5 Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust 10 
			 5FL Bath and North East Somerset PCT 0 
			 RC1 Bedford Hospital NHS Trust 12 
			 RV7 Bedfordshire and Luton Mental Health and Social Care NHS Trust 0 
			 5QG Berkshire East PCT 0 
			 RWX Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 5QF Berkshire West PCT 0 
			 RXT Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust 0 
			 5PG Birmingham East and North PCT 0 
			 RXL Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 11 
			 RMC Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust 3 
			 5HQ Bolton PCT 0 
			 5QN Bournemouth and Poole Teaching PCT 0 
			 5NY Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT 0 
			 TAD Bradford District Care Trust 0 
			 RAE Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 3 
			 RXH Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust 37 
			 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 3 
			 RXQ Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust 33 
			 5QD Buckinghamshire PCT 0 
			 RJF Burton Hospitals NHS Trust 14 
			 5JX Bury PCT 0 
			 RWY Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust 1 
			 5J6 Calderdale PCT 13 
			 RGT Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 10 
			 RT1 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 5PP Cambridgeshire PCT 0 
			 TAF Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust 0 
			 RV3 Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RW3 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust 9 
			 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 9 
			 RXA Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RFS Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2 
			 RLN City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 3 
			 REN Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Foundation Trust 1 
			 5QP Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 0 
			 RJ8 Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 RJR Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 29 
			 RYG Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 RNN Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 5NE Cumbria Teaching PCT 0 
			 RN7 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust 10 
			 5N7 Derby City PCT 0 
			 RTG Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 30 
			 5N6 Derbyshire County PCT 0 
			 RXM Derbyshire Mental Health Services NHS Trust 0 
			 RWV Devon Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 5QQ Devon PCT 0 
			 RP5 Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 18 
			 RBD Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 9 
			 RDY Dorset Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 5QM Dorset PCT 0 
			 RNA Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust 34 
			 5PE Dudley PCT 0 
			 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 7 
			 RWH East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 18 
			 5P3 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 0 
			 RJN East Cheshire NHS Trust 1 
			 RVV East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust 40 
			 RXR East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 22 
			 5NH East Lancashire Teaching PCT 0 
			 5P7 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 0 
			 RXC East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust 34 
			 5C1 Enfield PCT 0 
			 RVR Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 8 
			 RDE Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust 8 
			 RDU Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 13 
			 RR7 Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust 12 
			 RLT George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust 8 
			 RTE Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 7 
			 5QH Gloucestershire PCT 0 
			 5PR Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 0 
			 RXV Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RJ1 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 1 
			 RW1 Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 5QC Hampshire PCT 4 
			 5C9 Haringey Teaching PCT 0 
			 RCD Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust 3 
			 5K6 Harrow PCT 0 
			 5P8 Hastings and Rother PCT 0 
			 5A4 Havering PCT 0 
			 5MX Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 0 
			 RR1 Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust 54 
			 RD7 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 7 
			 RLQ Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust 37 
			 5CN Herefordshire PCT 0 
			 RWR Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RQQ Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust 3 
			 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 5 
			 RWA Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 27 
			 RV9 Humber Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust 0 
			 RYJ Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 29 
			 RGQ Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 19 
			 5QT Isle of Wight NHS PCT 0 
			 RGP James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 13 
			 RXY Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust 0 
			 RNQ Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust 15 
			 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2 
			 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 35 
			 5N2 Kirklees PCT 0 
			 RW5 Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RXN Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 14 
			 RGD Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RR8 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 22 
			 5PA Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 0 
			 RT5 Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 RP7 Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 0 
			 5NL Liverpool PCT 0 
			 RC9 Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 10 
			 RWF Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust 32 
			 TAE Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust 0 
			 5NT Manchester PCT 0 
			 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 7 
			 RPA Medway NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 5L3 Medway PCT 0 
			 RW4 Mersey Care NHS Trust 0 
			 RBT Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 10 
			 RQ8 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust 13 
			 5PX Mid Essex PCT 0 
			 RJD Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust 13 
			 RXF Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 23 
			 RD8 Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 6 
			 5CQ Milton Keynes PCT 0 
			 5D7 Newcastle PCT 0 
			 RM1 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust 50 
			 5PQ Norfolk PCT 0 
			 RVJ North Bristol NHS Trust 22 
			 RWW North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 4 
			 RNL North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 3 
			 5PW North East Essex PCT 0 
			 TAN North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus 0 
			 RAT North East London Mental Health NHS Trust 0 
			 RRD North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 5EF North Lincolnshire PCT 0 
			 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 11 
			 5M8 North Somerset PCT 0 
			 RLY North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust 0 
			 5PH North Staffordshire PCT 0 
			 RVW North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust 5 
			 5D8 North Tyneside PCT 0 
			 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 21 
			 5NV North Yorkshire and York PCT 0 
			 RNS Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust 7 
			 RP1 Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Trust 0 
			 5PD Northamptonshire Teaching PCT 0 
			 RBZ Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust 7 
			 RTF Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 16 
			 5EM Nottingham City PCT 0 
			 RX1 Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust 35 
			 5N8 Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT 0 
			 RHA Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 0 
			 RBF Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust 2 
			 RTH Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust 18 
			 RNU Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RHX Oxfordshire Learning Disability NHS Trust 0 
			 5QE Oxfordshire PCT 0 
			 RW6 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 25 
			 RT2 Pennine Care NHS Trust 0 
			 RGN Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 14 
			 RK9 Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust 20 
			 5F1 Plymouth Teaching PCT 0 
			 RD3 Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 30 
			 5FE Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 0 
			 RHU Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 29 
			 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 12 
			 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 5 
			 RPC Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 5NA Redbridge PCT 0 
			 5QR Redcar and Cleveland PCT 0 
			 RL1 Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital NHS Trust 10 
			 5H8 Rotherham PCT 0 
			 RXE Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RHW Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust 42 
			 REF Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust 24 
			 RH8 Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust 7 
			 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 17 
			 RQ6 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust 13 
			 RAN Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 6 
			 RD1 Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust 35 
			 RPR Royal West Sussex NHS Trust 22 
			 5F5 Salford PCT 0 
			 RM3 Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust 23 
			 RNZ Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust 14 
			 RXK Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 26 
			 TAJ Sandwell Mental Health NHS and Social Care Trust 0 
			 RCC Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Health Care NHS Trust 8 
			 TAH Sheffield Care Trust 0 
			 RHQ Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 18 
			 RK5 Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RXW Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust 12 
			 5M2 Shropshire County PCT 0 
			 RH5 Somerset Partnership NHS and Social Care Trust 0 
			 5QL Somerset PCT 0 
			 5M1 South Birmingham PCT 0 
			 RA9 South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 4 
			 RDR South Downs Health NHS Trust 0 
			 5P1 South East Essex PCT 0 
			 5A3 South Gloucestershire PCT 0 
			 RV5 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 RRE South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 5PK South Staffordshire PCT 0 
			 RTR South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust 13 
			 RE9 South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust 1 
			 5KG South Tyneside PCT 0 
			 RJC South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 4 
			 5PY South West Essex PCT 0 
			 RQY South West London and St. George's Mental Health NHS Trust 0 
			 RXG South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust 0 
			 5L1 Southampton City PCT 0 
			 RHM Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust 18 
			 RAJ Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 18 
			 RVY Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 2 
			 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 5 
			 RBN St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 6 
			 RWJ Stockport NHS Foundation Trust 13 
			 5PJ Stoke on Trent PCT 0 
			 RT6 Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 5PT Suffolk PCT 0 
			 RXX Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 RTP Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust 1 
			 5P5 Surrey PCT 0 
			 RX2 Sussex Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 RN3 Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust 12 
			 5K3 Swindon PCT 0 
			 RMP Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 7 
			 RBA Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust 26 
			 RX3 Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS trust 0 
			 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 1 
			 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 7 
			 RTD The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 12 
			 RQW The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 20 
			 RCX The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Trust 4 
			 RFR The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust 11 
			 RDZ The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 8 
			 RL4 The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust 12 
			 RKE The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 9 
			 5C4 Tower Hamlets PCT 0 
			 RA7 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust 9 
			 RWD United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 64 
			 RRK University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust 32 
			 RJE University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust 75 
			 RM2 University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust 6 
			 RKB University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust 16 
			 RWE University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust 52 
			 RTX University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust 32 
			 RBK Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust 8 
			 5M3 Walsall Teaching PCT 0 
			 5NC Waltham Forest PCT 0 
			 RET Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust 1 
			 5LG Wandsworth PCT 0 
			 5PM Warwickshire PCT 0 
			 5PV West Essex PCT 0 
			 RWG West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 15 
			 5P4 West Hertfordshire PCT 0 
			 5P9 West Kent PCT 0 
			 RKL West London Mental Health NHS Trust 0 
			 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 6 
			 RGR West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 9 
			 5P6 West Sussex PCT 0 
			 RA3 Weston area Health NHS Trust 0 
			 RGC Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 14 
			 5QK Wiltshire PCT 0 
			 RN1 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust 7 
			 RBL Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 14 
			 5MV Wolverhampton City PCT 0 
			 RWP Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 10 
			 RWQ Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 0 
			 5PL Worcestershire PCT 0 
			 RPL Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust 17 
			 RRF Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust 11 
			 RA4 Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 4 
			 RGB York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			  Note: Numbers of delayed transfers of care are collected as a snapshot at midnight Thursday each week. The figures provided above are from the last typical week in week 2007-08 to week ending 16 March 2008.  Source: Department of Health: SitReps

Ambulance Services: Emergency Calls

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many medical 999 calls were made in each year since 1997, broken down by region; and what percentage of these resulted in ambulance dispatch in each region in each year.

Ben Bradshaw: Calls made to national health service ambulance services through the 999-telephony line are not categorised by type of caller. Information on the number of 999 calls made by the medical profession is therefore not collected centrally. Ambulance services provide data against their trust's response times to emergency 999 calls, which are collected each year by the Department on return KA34 and published annually in "Ambulance Services, England. Statistical Bulletin, collected in accordance with KA34". In addition to emergency 999 calls, prior to 1 April 2007, trusts have also reported annual data on urgent cases (i.e. urgent patient journeys), where ambulance services were required to transport patients by an ambulance vehicle to hospital following a request from a doctor, midwife or other health care professional. Information on urgent patient journeys is published annually in the "KA34 statistical bulletin".
	Copies of the "KA34 statistical bulletin" are available in the Library.

Ambulance Services: Emergency Calls

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many ambulance calls were made to ambulance call or control centres in  (a) Middlesbrough and  (b) Tyneside in 2007-08 or the most recent year for which information is available;
	(2)  how many ambulance calls made to the call centre in Middlesbrough in the last 12-month period for which information is available were from people in  (a) Redcar/Cleveland,  (b) Middlesbrough,  (c) Darlington,  (d) Hartlepool and  (e) Stockton;
	(3)  how many 999 calls were made to ambulance or control call centres in  (a) Middlesbrough and  (b) Tyneside in 2007-08 or the most recent year for which information is available;
	(4)  how many ambulances arrived late at their destination as a result of being misdirected by the ambulance control centre in  (a) Tyneside and  (b) Middlesbrough in 2007-08 or the most recent 12-month period for which information is available;
	(5)  how many deaths occurred as a result of the ambulance service  (a) being misdirected and  (b) (i) arriving late and (ii) not arriving at the destination in the Teesside area of the North East, including Redcar, Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Hartlepool and Stockton, in 2007-08 or the last 12-month period for which information is available.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not centrally collected. The data that the Department does collect on ambulance response times are published on an annual basis in the statistical bulletin, "Ambulance services, England. Statistical Bulletin collected in accordance with KA34". These documents are available in the Library.

Breast Cancer: Screening

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to identify possible economies of scale in the procurement of digital mammography services.

Ann Keen: The 'Cancer Reform Strategy' stated that primary care trusts will need to give high priority to full implementation of digital mammography within the national health service breast screening programme, with all breast screening units having at least one full-field digital mammography set by 2010. Discussions are taking place on the most clinically and cost-effective method of achieving this aim.

Cancer: Health Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve support services for cancer patients.

Ann Keen: The "Cancer Reform Strategy", published in December 2007, sets out a number of initiatives to improve patient support services for those living with and beyond cancer.
	These initiatives include:
	ensuring patients receive high quality personalised information throughout their cancer journey on issues such as cancer treatment, local and national support services, and financial benefits;
	working with cancer professionals in the NHS to improve their communication skills when dealing with patients;
	the establishment of a new national cancer survivorship initiative; and
	monitoring progress on improving patient experience through annual surveys.
	More detailed information on these measures is available in chapter five of the "Cancer Reform Strategy" a copy of which is available in the Library and on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_081006

Cancer: Health Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the National Cancer Intelligence Network to complete its framework enabling accurate comparisons of England's cancer services with other countries; and when he plans to begin making such comparisons.

Ann Keen: The new National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) will be launched on 18 June 2008. The NCIN will bring together relevant stakeholders to develop, build, maintain and quality assure a new national repository of cancer data.
	The NCIN will also manage the delivery and publication of comparative national information on diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for types of cancer and types of patients.
	During 2008, the NCIN will be collaborating closely with other countries to establish what comparisons can be made, and within what time scales. These plans will be outlined as part of the overall NCIN delivery plans, in the first annual report for 2008-09.

Cancer: Health Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which costs associated with implementation of the cancer reform strategy will be met by his Department in each of the next five years; and what additional resources have been included in primary care trust allocations to cover other costs of implementing the strategy.

Ann Keen: The Impact Assessment published alongside the "Cancer Reform Strategy" sets out the estimated costs of implementing the strategy in each year. The funding to meet these expected costs is mainly being provided through primary care trusts (PCT) general allocations, with some costs met centrally. PCT allocations are not broken down into funding streams for individual services, and it is for the national health service to decide locally how best to deliver the outcomes set out in the strategy, and the actual level of resources required to do so.
	Expected central programme budget expenditure in 2008-09 by the Department in support of the "Cancer Reform Strategy" is estimated at £8.6 million. Decisions on the split between central budgets and primary care trust allocations for later years have yet to be taken.

Cancer: Health Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to monitor how  (a) commissioners and  (b) providers implement (i) advice, (ii) support and (iii) examples of best practice on (A) how to deliver high-quality, cost effective cancer services and (B) how cancer expenditure should be prioritised.

Ann Keen: Commissioners of cancer services will be subject to the wider assurance system being developed under the World Class Commissioning Programme and managed by the strategic health authorities. The Healthcare Commission will also provide an independent assessment of provider and commissioner health care organisations to ensure that they are providing a high standard of care.
	Primary care trusts are funded to meet the health care needs of their populations. It is for them to prioritise this expenditure in accordance with local needs.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much funding his Department has allocated to the development of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of cancer in the next three financial years;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received on the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of cancer;
	(3)  how many patients were receiving photodynamic therapy at the latest date for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many patients received photodynamic therapy in each of the last three years, broken down by hospital at which treatment was dispensed.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect information on the number of patients receiving photodynamic therapy (PDT), where this treatment is provided or the cost of the treatment.
	The Department has received a number of written representations about the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy cancer treatment from the charity Killing Cancer.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has issued guidance on the use of PDT in the treatment of several cancers.
	It is for the national health service at a local level to decide whether to offer this treatment to patients.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research on the efficacy of photodynamic therapy; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is investing £1 million in a study to gather evidence on the clinical and cost effectiveness of photodynamic therapy for people with age-related macular degeneration.
	In addition, two of the NIHR biomedical research centres established in 2007 will be undertaking research concerned with the use of photodynamic therapy. At the University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, the photodynamic therapy research will form part of a gastroenterology and hepatology research theme to which £5 million has been allocated over five years. At the Moorfields Eye Hospital Biomedical Research Centre it will be part of a programme of research to do with age-related macular degeneration to which £2.9 million has been allocated over five years.
	The Department is also providing national health service support for two trials of photodynamic therapy for biliary tract cancers through the NIHR Cancer Research Network, and for two trials of photodynamic therapy for cancer of the gullet (oesophagus) through the joint Cancer Research UK/NIHR Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre at University College Hospital London.
	The Medical Research Council has in the last six years funded two studies relating to photodynamic therapy at a total cost of £300,000.

Cancer: Screening

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are to increase levels of cancer screening in  (a) Enfield and  (b) England.

Ann Keen: We recognise the important role that screening plays and, as set out in the "Cancer Reform Strategy", we are taking steps to build on and improve our existing screening services. This includes extending the age ranges for both breast and bowel screening, so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to be screened. We estimate that this will mean that an extra three million men and women will be screened over the next five years.
	It is important to remember that no screening method is perfect and anyone invited to be screened for cancer must be aware of both the benefit and harm of being screened and be able to make an informed decision on whether to take part or not.
	It is for strategic health authorities working in partnership with their primary care trusts, local screening services and stakeholders to provide appropriate cancer screening services for their local populations and this includes promotion of local screening services.

Cancer: Waiting Lists

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the NHS's radiotherapy capacity to meet the 31-day waiting time target for cancer patients; and what plans he has to increase the NHS's radiotherapy capacity;
	(2)  whether he plans to expand the scope of the 31-day waiting time target for radiotherapy from initial to all treatment.

Ann Keen: As set out in the 'Cancer Reform Strategy', published in December 2007, the 31-day standard will be extended to cover all cancer treatments not just the initial treatment. It also acknowledges that this extension will have an impact on radiotherapy services where increased capacity will be needed if NHS trusts are to meet the extended 31-day standard. Copies of the strategy are available in the Library.
	The most recent assessment of radiotherapy was undertaken by the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group as part of their report to Ministers. 'Radiotherapy: developing a world class service for England', was published in May 2007. Copies of this document are available in the Library. The report set out recommendations for improving productivity of existing radiotherapy services and for planning the increase in capacity over the coming years. These recommendations were considered as part of the development of the 'Cancer Reform Strategy', which makes clear that local investment will be needed in both equipment and work force in order to deliver a world class radiotherapy service.

Cardiovascular System: Health Services

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential of telemedicine as an effective and affordable tool for carrying out vascular checks for those aged between 40 to 74 years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of telemedicine pharmacies to meeting the Government's programme of free vascular checks for those aged 40 to 74 years.

Ann Keen: On 1 April 2008, the Department published 'Putting Prevention First'; a copy of this publication is available in the Library. This outlined initial analysis which confirmed that a programme to reach everybody between the ages of 40 and 74, to check their vascular risk and provide them with an individual assessment, would be both clinically effective and cost-effective.
	The next step is to develop an implementation and delivery programme with key stakeholders. We will be considering different options for delivering vascular checks involving a range of providers, including pharmacies.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people have been contacted about bowel cancer screening by the bowel cancer screening system in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05,  (c) 2005-06,  (d) 2006-07 and  (e) 2007-08;
	(2)  what percentage of people contacted about bowel cancer screening by the bowel cancer screening system participated in the bowel cancer screening programme in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05,  (c) 2005-06,  (d) 2006-07 and  (e) 2007-08.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available prior to July 2006.
	Roll-out of the national NHS bowel cancer screening programme only began in April 2006, with the first invitations sent out in July 2006. Full national implementation is expected by December 2009. Within the programme, men and women are sent an invitation letter a week before they are sent a testing kit to give them the opportunity to decline receiving a testing kit if they do not wish to receive one for personal or clinical reasons.
	As at 31 March 2008, 1,185,791 men and women had been sent an invitation letter, 1,099,653 had been sent a testing kit, and 590,769 had completed and returned a testing kit. This represents 50 per cent. of those who had been sent an invitation letter, and 54 per cent. of those who had been sent a testing kit. In addition, 17,192 men and women aged 70 or over had been sent a testing kit on request.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  from where the NHS Connecting for Health: bowel cancer screening system draws its contact data;
	(2)  how often the dataset used by the NHS Connecting for Health: bowel cancer screening system is refreshed.

Ann Keen: The bowel cancer screening system draws its data from the National Health Applications Infrastructure Services (the 'Exeter' system), which contains the names and details of all people registered with a general practitioner in England. The system is refreshed on a daily basis.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to broaden the age range of the bowel cancer screening programme;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to maximise up-take of bowel cancer screening among the target population; and what arrangements he has made to monitor the efficacy of the programme.

Ann Keen: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in September 2007 the NHS bowel screening programme will be extended from 2010 to invite men and women aged 70 to 75 to take part.
	A booklet entitled 'Bowel Cancer Screening: The Facts', which provides information about bowel cancer and sets out the benefits and risks of participating in the screening programme, is sent out with each invitation. It is important to remember that no screening method is perfect and anyone invited to be screened for cancer must be aware of both the potential benefits and harms of being screened and be able to make an informed decision on whether or not to take part.
	It is for strategic health authorities working in partnership with their primary care trusts, local screening services and stakeholders to provide appropriate cancer screening services for their local populations, including the promotion of local screening services.
	The NHS bowel screening programme currently reports weekly returns to the Department. We are working with the Information Centre to develop a framework for the annual publication of statistics related to the programme once roll-out is completed in December 2009.

Drugs: Finance

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the sources of the planned efficiency savings in the Pooled Drug Treatment Budget 2010-11 are; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Since 2001, the Department and the Home Office have provided specific resources for drug treatment in the form of the pooled drug treatment budget (PTB), which is allocated to the 149 drug action teams across the country to use, along with local mainstream funding, to provide treatment and services according to specific local needs.
	The Department does not intend the funding made available through the PTB to represent the totality of funding for any area. Rather, it is designed to supplement mainstream funds and to encourage investment in improving treatment capacity and effectiveness.
	The level of Government investment for substance misuse treatment within the PTB is £398 million for 2008-09, which is also the indicative figure for 2009-10 and 2010-11. However, we expect the reinvestment of the planned efficiency savings that will be made year on year until 2010-11 to reach £50 million. This reinvestment of the planned efficiency savings will allow for the expansion of treatment services to support the delivery of indicator 1 (number of drug users in effective treatment) in public service agreement 25.
	Partnerships will be helped to deliver more effectively by:
	changes to the allocation of the pooled treatment budget to match it more closely to activity;
	the development of unit costs data to inform commissioning decisions;
	improved processes for assessing local need to improve targeting; and
	the national implementation of the treatment outcomes profile tool which will enable resources to be diverted to more effective interventions.

General Practioners: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner surgeries there were in the Peterborough city council area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 24 April 2008
	The information is not held in the format requested. The following table shows the number of general practitioner (GP) partnerships in the Peterborough primary care trust (PCT) area from 2001 to 2007 (a partnership may comprise a number of premises) and the number of GPs in the Peterborough PCT area from 2001 to 2007. Prior to 2001, no comparable information is available.
	I am advised that Peterborough PCT is currently developing proposals for a new GP-led health centre to be opened in Peterborough next year.
	
		
			  Number of GP partnerships (P) and number of GPs (G) in Peterborough PCT area at 30 September for each specified year 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			   P  G  P  G  P  G  P  G  P  G  P  G  P  G 
			 Peterborough PCT (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 27 94 27 98 
			 North Peterborough PCT 20 55 18 57 18 60 18 61 18 59 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 South Peterborough PCT 13 53 14 52 14 56 15 61 15 65 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) Data not available.  Notes: 1. The GP Census collection does not contain data on number of surgeries. A partnership may comprise a number of premises. 2. 'G' includes full-time and part-time GPs. 3. Peterborough PCT was created on 1 October 2006 from a complete merger of North Peterborough PCT and a part merger of South Peterborough PCT. Due to this part merger, data from 2006 onwards are not directly comparable with data for 2001-05. Prior to 2001, no comparable information is available for this area.  Source: Information Centre for health and social care—GP Census.

Health Services

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to the personal relationship between general practitioners and patients in formulating primary care policy.

Alan Johnson: A patient's relationship with their family doctor is of vital importance. List-based general practice is a key strength of the system that we have. It is valued by patients, doctors and the national health service as a whole.
	There is no contradiction between the desire by many patients to be seen by their own general practitioner and the £250 million investment we are making in expanding primary care provision particularly in under-doctored areas.

Health Services: North West

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the public expenditure per capita on  (a) primary care,  (b) emergency care and  (c) NHS dental provision in each constituency in the North West was in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: holding answer 1 May 2008
	The information is not available in the format requested. The information is not collected at constituency level but has been provided by national health service body in the current North West Strategic Health Authority area. Data are available for the years 2000-01 to 2006-07.
	The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Healthcare Commission: Standards

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from what date the time taken by the Healthcare Commission to deal with a complaint is measured.

Ben Bradshaw: We understand from the Healthcare Commission that it records the time taken for its reviews from the day it receives a new case. It takes on average three months for an independent review to be conducted.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for  (a) in-patient,  (b) day and  (c) out-patient appointments at (i) Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and (ii) Cheltenham General Hospital was in each year since 1992.

Ben Bradshaw: Information is not held in the format requested. Information is collected about median waiting times at national health service trust level, rather than individual hospital level. Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital are part of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The following tables show median waiting times at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and, before 2002-03, at its predecessor trusts, Gloucestershire Royal NHS Trust and East Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust.
	
		
			  Median waiting times (in weeks) at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  Period ending  Daycase admissions  Ordinary admissions  First outpatient (OP) attendance (from general practitioner (GP) referral) 
			 March 2003 9.5 10.5 7.2 
			 March 2004 9.1 10.3 5.9 
			 March 2005 6.2 8.2 6.1 
			 March 2006 6.0 7.5 5.8 
			 March 2007 5.5 6.9 5.0 
			 September 2007 4.4 6.3 5.1 
			  Source:  KH07 and QM08 quarterly returns from NHS trusts. 
		
	
	
		
			  Median waiting times (in weeks) at East Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  Period ending  Daycase admissions  Ordinary admission  First OP attendance (from GP referral) 
			 March 1992 8.0 10.8 n/a 
			 March 1993 9.6 10.8 n/a 
			 March 1994 8.4 9.8 3.6 
			 March 1995 8.2 9.4 5.3 
			 March 1996 8.1 9.0 6.0 
			 March 1997 8.7 9.3 5.5 
			 March 1998 10.3 12.3 5.0 
			 March 1999 9.0 10.2 6.4 
			 March 2000 10.8 11.0 7.1 
			 March 2001 9.8 10.2 7.1 
			 March 2002 11.3 9.8 6.8 
			  Source:  KH07 and QM08 quarterly returns from NHS trusts. 
		
	
	
		
			  Median waiting times (in weeks) at Gloucestershire Royal NHS Trust 
			  Period ending  Daycase admission  Ordinary admission  (First OP attendance from GP referral) 
			 March 1992 n/a n/a n/a 
			 March 1993 n/a n/a n/a 
			 March 1994 10.9 11.2 3.9 
			 March 1995 10.0 10.7 6.6 
			 March 1996 9.5 9.5 6.3 
			 March 1997 10.7 10.9 7.2 
			 March 1998 11.0 11.0 6.8 
			 March 1999 11.9 10.4 7.2 
			 March 2000 10.3 12.0 7.5 
			 March 2001 10.0 11.4 6.7 
			 March 2002 9.1 12.8 6.9 
			  Source:  KH07 and QM08 quarterly returns from NHS trusts.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in each primary care trust in London waited for  (a) three,  (b) six,  (c) nine,  (d) 12,  (e) 15,  (f) 18,  (g) 21 and  (h) 24 weeks and over for out-patient admission in each quarter of each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not held in the format requested. Data prior to 2006-07 were collected in grouped time bands of four-week waiting times. However, the waiting times measurement was changed from banded weeks to actual individual weeks for 2006-07 onwards as the maximum waiting times reduced.
	The information available about the number of outpatients seen in each quarter, for each London primary care trust since 2002-03, has been placed in the Library.

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is on provision of aids and appliances for stoma patients; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what representations he has received from patient groups in response to the consultation about provision of aids and appliances for stoma patients;
	(3)  what the timetable is for his Department's consultation on provision of aids and appliances for stoma patients.

Dawn Primarolo: The general policy on appliances is that patients should receive cost-effective treatment to meet their clinical needs as established by appropriate national health service healthcare professionals.
	Since the review of the arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances and related services began in October 2005, the following representations have been received from patient groups.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Ministerial meetings 3 
			 Letters to Ministers 5 
			 Meetings with officials 7 
			  Note:  These figures do not include the numerous letters received directly from patients and their Members of Parliament. 
		
	
	The review is ongoing. A further consultation will be published in May 2008, together with an Impact Assessment and Equality Impact Assessment, and will be open for 12 weeks.

Ipsos MORI

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2008,  Official Report, column 873W, on Ipsos MORI, which policy teams commissioned work from Ipsos MORI.

Ben Bradshaw: From March 2006 to March 2008, the following directorates commissioned work from Ipsos MORI: Equality and Human Rights; Health Protection International Health and Scientific Development; Health Improvement and Protection; Commissioning and System Management; Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnerships; and NHS Finance, Performance and Operations and Communications.

Medical Records: Databases

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what datasets are recorded by primary care trusts for inclusion on the National Health Application Infrastructure Service (Exeter) system.

Ben Bradshaw: The National Health Application Infrastructure Service (NHAIS) comprises of four datasets which support: the recording and maintenance of patient demographics, that is name, national health service number, gender, date of birth and address; the payment of general practitioners, including practitioner and practice details; the call or recall of women for cervical screening, as required by the national cervical screening programme; and the call or recall of women for breast screening, as required by the national breast screening programme. In addition, the NHAIS systems are a mechanism by which patients are able to opt in to being an organ donor.

Methadone

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1105W, on methadone, what the cost to primary care trusts of dispensing methadone prescriptions was in 2006-07.

Dawn Primarolo: The total net ingredient cost to primary care trusts in England of methadone prescriptions in 2006-07 was £15.7 million(1). This does not include prescriptions written in hospitals or clinics that were dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals or private prescriptions.
	 Note:
	Methadone can be prescribed as a cough suppressant, as an analgesic or for the treatment of addiction.
	 Source:
	(1)The Electronic Prescribing Analysis and Cost Tool system.

NHS: Finance

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the difference was between the weighted caption formula calculation and the final allocation for each primary care trust in each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The table provides the final allocations made to primary care trusts (PCTs) for the years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 and the percentage distance from target allocation set by the weighted-capitation formula for every PCT for the same period.
	Revenue allocations are made to PCTs on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each PCT's target shares of available resources to enable them to commission similar levels of health care for populations in similar need.
	The formula is used to set targets, which then inform allocations. The distance from target represents the actual allocation compared to the target allocation. It is the pace of change policy that determines actual allocations, as it dictates how quickly PCTs are brought nearer to target through the distribution of additional funds.
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  PCT name  Allocation (£000)  Closing distance from target (DFT) (percentage)  Allocation (£000)  Closing DFT (percentage)  Allocation (£000)  Closing DFT (percentage) 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 410,731 -2.3 449,115 -2.4 473,646 -2.40 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 240,688 -4.8 267,023 -3.5 281,607 -3.50 
			 Barnet PCT 425,930 8.3 460,640 6.9 485,800 6.90 
			 Barnsley PCT 319,935 -4.5 353,531 -3.5 372,841 -3.50 
			 Bassetlaw PCT 130,267 -4.8 144,874 -3.5 152,787 -3.50 
			 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 206,371 0.9 224,569 0.4 236,835 0.40 
			 Bedfordshire PCT 434,053 -4.4 483,955 -3.3 510,388 -3.30 
			 Berkshire East PCT 429,771 1.6 467,641 1.4 493,184 1.40 
			 Berkshire West PCT 477,657 -0.4 521,310 -0.5 549,784 -0.50 
			 Bexley Care Trust 258,661 0.6 281,904 0.3 297,301 0.30 
			 Birmingham East and North PCT 551,721 -3.1 606,916 -2.2 640,065 -2.20 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 207,706 -3.6 227,152 -3.2 239,559 -3.20 
			 Blackpool PCT 213,766 0.5 232,537 0.2 245,239 0.20 
			 Bolton PCT 355,301 -2.1 388,481 -2 409,700 -2.00 
			 Bournemouth and Poole PCT 418,982 0.8 455,410 0.5 480,284 0.50 
			 Bradford and Airedale PCT 655,461 -0.6 713,986 -1.1 752,984 -1.10 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 407,601 5.3 440,836 4.8 464,915 4.80 
			 Brighton and Hove City PCT 349,706 0 381,965 0.2 402,828 0.20 
			 Bristol PCT 526,977 1.5 571,181 1 602,379 1.00 
			 Bromley PCT 373,188 4.4 403,632 3.2 425,678 3.20 
			 Buckinghamshire PCT 524,765 -0.4 573,490 -0.3 604,814 -0.30 
			 Bury PCT 226,689 -2.3 247,864 -2.2 261,403 -2.20 
			 Calderdale PCT 254,621 3.4 275,396 2.6 290,438 2.60 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 622,584 -2.1 685,883 -2.1 723,346 -2.10 
			 Camden PCT 368,783 7.4 398,848 5.6 420,633 5.60 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 522,824 1.6 571,132 1.2 602,327 1.20 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 556,430 0.9 607,500 0.6 640,682 0.60 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 380,906 -3.3 416,671 -3.5 439,429 -3.50 
			 Cornwall and Isles Of Scilly PCT 645,556 -3.4 710,827 -3.3 749,652 -3.30 
			 County Durham PCT 711,825 -2.2 784,201 -1.2 827,034 -1.20 
			 Coventry Teaching PCT 425,221 -4.9 469,451 -3.5 495,092 -3.50 
			 Croydon PCT 424,028 3 458,633 1.9 483,683 1.90 
			 Cumbria PCT 632,547 -0.1 689,160 -0.5 726,801 -0.50 
			 Darlington PCT 136,390 6.6 147,509 5.5 155,566 5.50 
			 Derby City PCT 329,454 -3.2 361,115 -2.9 380,839 -2.90 
			 Derbyshire County PCT 841,060 -1.3 922,913 -1.1 973,323 -1.10 
			 Devon PCT 871,595 -0.7 956,903 -0.8 1,009,169 -0.80 
			 Doncaster PCT 401,609 -2 439,103 -1.9 463,087 -1.90 
			 Dorset PCT 467,804 -1 512,900 -1.1 540,915 -1.10 
			 Dudley PCT 373,359 -0.6 407,037 -0.7 429,270 -0.70 
			 Ealing PCT 444,899 7.5 481,157 6.7 507,438 6.70 
			 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 608,574 -1.9 667,728 -1.9 704,199 -1.90 
			 East Lancashire PCT 506,236 -1 553,338 -0.8 583,561 -0.80 
			 East Riding Of Yorkshire PCT 345,739 -1.7 380,204 -1.8 400,971 -1.80 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 421,307 3.4 458,443 2.6 483,483 2.60 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 917,451 -1.3 1,013,331 -0.9 1,068,679 -0.90 
			 Enfield PCT 351,514 0.1 384,190 0.1 405,175 0.10 
			 Gateshead PCT 286,689 -0.6 313,317 -0.1 330,431 -0.10 
			 Gloucestershire PCT 669,670 0.8 731,208 0.5 771,146 0.50 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 286,026 -5.1 319,752 -3.5 337,217 -3.50 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 344,632 2.1 372,379 0.7 392,719 0.70 
			 Halton and St Helens PCT 434,697 -1.8 474,176 -1.8 500,076 -1.80 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 265,137 7.1 286,377 6 302,019 6.00 
			 Hampshire PCT 1,404,036 1 1,531,884 0.6 1,615,555 0.60 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 346,339 1 375,205 0.5 395,698 0.50 
			 Harrow PCT 255,367 8.1 276,176 7.2 291,261 7.20 
			 Hartlepool PCT 131,905 -2.9 144,243 -2.8 152,122 -2.80 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 248,194 2.6 270,154 2.1 284,910 2.10 
			 Havering PCT 303,017 0.3 331,028 0.2 349,109 0.20 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 410,557 -4.7 454,255 -3.5 479,066 -3.50 
			 Herefordshire PCT 202,786 -5.1 226,439 -3.5 238,807 -3.50 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 288,702 -1.8 316,327 -1.5 333,605 -1.50 
			 Hillingdon PCT 308,041 4.5 333,169 3.4 351,367 3.40 
			 Hounslow PCT 298,309 5.3 322,634 4.7 340,256 4.70 
			 Hull PCT 371,301 0.9 401,457 0.6 423,384 0.60 
			 Isle of Wight NHS PCT 185,563 -3.7 204,994 -3.5 216,191 -3.50 
			 Islington PCT 336,943 9.8 363,928 8.4 383,806 8.40 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 275,175 7.9 297,613 4.9 313,868 4.90 
			 Kingston PCT 202,727 10.6 219,238 9.2 231,213 9.20 
			 Kirklees PCT 485,093 1.1 527,512 0.7 556,324 0.70 
			 Knowsley PCT 243,375 -4.8 268,697 -3.5 283,374 -3.50 
			 Lambeth PCT 467,660 13.3 505,097 12.6 532,686 12.60 
			 Leeds PCT 952,025 3.7 1,032,366 3.2 1,088,754 3.20 
			 Leicester City PCT 386,947 -4.1 424,964 -3.2 448,176 -3.20 
			 Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 663,407 -2.6 730,485 -2.3 770,384 -2.30 
			 Lewisham PCT 397,785 12.1 429,633 11.4 453,100 11.40 
			 Lincolnshire PCT 829,240 -3.9 922,602 -3.1 972,995 -3.10 
			 Liverpool PCT 733,222 -3.8 803,354 -3 847,234 -3.00 
			 Luton PCT 223,068 -5.1 247,703 -3.5 261,233 -3.50 
			 Manchester PCT 735,995 -4.9 815,430 -3.5 859,969 -3.50 
			 Medway PCT 304,301 -5.1 340,701 -3.5 359,310 -3.50 
			 Mid Essex PCT 365,484 -3.3 405,722 -2.3 427,883 -2.30 
			 Middlesbrough PCT 208,845 -2.3 228,340 -1.5 240,812 -1.50 
			 Milton Keynes PCT 247,043 -5.1 277,919 -3.5 293,098 -3.50 
			 Newcastle PCT 386,439 2.2 417,413 1.6 440,212 1.60 
			 Newham PCT 415,179 -3.2 454,046 -3.2 478,846 -3.20 
			 Norfolk PCT 839,936 -3.4 932,449 -2.4 983,379 -2.40 
			 North East Essex PCT 381,624 -4.2 422,921 -3.3 446,020 -3.30 
			 North East Lincolnshire PCT 210,372 0.3 229,114 0.2 241,629 0.20 
			 North Lancashire PCT 418,760 0.1 456,349 -0.5 481,275 -0.50 
			 North Lincolnshire PCT 190,441 -1.8 208,972 -1.7 220,386 -1.70 
			 North Somerset PCT 225,201 -5.1 251,427 -3.5 265,159 -3.50 
			 North Staffordshire PCT 255,312 0.7 278,040 0.4 293,227 0.40 
			 North Tees PCT 228,058 -4.8 253,743 -3.5 267,603 -3.50 
			 North Tyneside PCT 273,205 0 298,390 0 314,688 0.00 
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT 870,019 0.8 947,379 0.2 999,125 0.20 
			 Northamptonshire PCT 730,405 -5 817,249 -3.7 861,887 -3.70 
			 Northumberland Care Trust 399,055 0.5 434,542 0.2 458,277 0.20 
			 Nottingham City PCT 396,017 -0.2 430,928 0 454,466 0.00 
			 Nottinghamshire County PCT 766,008 -0.8 839,335 -0.6 885,179 -0.60 
			 Oldham PCT 304,145 -3.1 332,588 -2.7 350,754 -2.70 
			 Oxfordshire PCT 663,385 0.3 727,498 0.2 767,234 0.20 
			 Peterborough PCT 200,369 1.6 226,047 4.4 238,393 4.40 
			 Plymouth Teaching PCT 320,442 0.9 348,433 0.5 367,464 0.50 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 232,225 -0.2 253,929 0 267,799 0.00 
			 Redbridge PCT 292,512 1.4 317,506 0.6 334,848 0.60 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 189,438 -0.7 206,163 -0.7 217,424 -0.70 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 224,520 14.5 242,789 13 256,050 13.00 
			 Rotherham PCT 330,233 -1.2 361,022 -1.2 380,741 -1.20 
			 Salford PCT 346,814 1.5 374,615 0.9 395,076 0.90 
			 Sandwell PCT 422,253 -3.6 461,941 -3 487,172 -3.00 
			 Sefton PCT 389,658 2.2 424,393 2.1 447,574 2.10 
			 Sheffield PCT 721,813 4.3 783,833 4.1 826,646 4.10 
			 Shropshire County PCT 331,198 -1 363,336 -0.8 383,181 -0.80 
			 Solihull Care Trust 236,950 -0.8 259,370 -0.4 273,537 -0.40 
			 Somerset PCT 598,119 -3 661,858 -2.3 698,008 -2.30 
			 South Birmingham PCT 467,293 -0.3 510,764 -0.1 538,661 -0.10 
			 South East Essex PCT 405,020 -0.4 441,775 -0.8 465,904 -0.80 
			 South Gloucestershire PCT 250,189 -0.9 275,190 -0.8 290,221 -0.80 
			 South Staffordshire PCT 653,701 -1.6 716,139 -1.6 755,254 -1.60 
			 South Tyneside PCT 222,991 -2.1 243,791 -1.4 257,107 -1.40 
			 South West Essex PCT 473,017 -3.5 525,622 -2.3 554,331 -2.30 
			 Southampton City PCT 295,218 -2.4 323,249 -2.1 340,905 -2.10 
			 Southwark PCT 401,542 3.9 433,721 3.2 457,410 3.20 
			 Stockport PCT 349,861 1.1 379,343 0.7 400,063 0.70 
			 Stoke On Trent PCT 360,415 -0.7 392,763 -0.5 414,216 -0.50 
			 Suffolk PCT 659,034 -2.5 726,691 -2 766,383 -2.00 
			 Sunderland Teaching PCT 413,283 0.6 449,010 0.3 473,535 0.30 
			 Surrey PCT 1,234,594 6 1,335,260 4.9 1,408,192 4.90 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 459,723 5.8 497,211 4.6 524,369 4.60 
			 Swindon PCT 223,813 0.8 243,943 0.3 257,267 0.30 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 308,593 -0.4 337,310 -0.3 355,733 -0.30 
			 Telford and Wrekin PCT 187,621 -5.1 209,334 -3.5 220,768 -3.50 
			 Torbay Care Trust 185,688 -5.1 207,397 -3.5 218,725 -3.50 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 360,074 -3.6 395,521 -3.5 417,125 -3.50 
			 Trafford PCT 275,442 3 299,535 2.8 315,896 2.80 
			 Wakefield District PCT 444,548 -2.5 489,186 -2 515,905 -2.00 
			 Walsall Teaching PCT 342,196 -0.9 374,066 -0.7 394,497 -0.70 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 320,806 1.3 347,335 0.8 366,306 0.80 
			 Wandsworth PCT 388,415 12.7 420,027 11.9 442,968 11.90 
			 Warrington PCT 237,103 0.1 259,050 -0.1 273,199 -0.10 
			 Warwickshire PCT 592,423 -2.4 652,206 -2.1 687,830 -2.10 
			 West Essex PCT 313,574 1.8 340,399 0.8 358,991 0.80 
			 West Hertfordshire PCT 627,084 3.4 679,655 2.6 716,778 2.60 
			 West Kent PCT 740,523 0 810,316 0 854,576 0.00 
			 West Sussex PCT 952,453 3.2 1,034,023 2.4 1,090,501 2.40 
			 Western Cheshire PCT 303,849 0 332,116 0 350,256 0.00 
			 Westminster PCT 367,029 14.8 396,902 11.6 418,581 11.60 
			 Wiltshire PCT 490,847 -0.1 539,616 -0.1 569,089 -0.10 
			 Wirral PCT 459,538 0.5 500,617 0.3 527,960 0.30 
			 Wolverhampton City PCT 326,781 -4.8 360,656 -3.5 380,355 -3.50 
			 Worcestershire PCT 617,658 -2.2 679,281 -1.8 716,383 -1.80

NHS: Negligence

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the public purse was of  (a) legal costs and  (b) damages awarded in respect of clinical negligence cases involving the NHS in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: The information requested is in the following table. The information was obtained from the NHS Litigation Authority's published accounts.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Year claim closed  Damages  Defence legal costs  Claimant legal costs 
			 2005-06 412,245,050 54,894,083 91,252,864 
			 2006-07 332,786,934 49,808,394 83,830,905 
			 2007-08 384,841,737 56,848,517 108,921,201 
			  Notes:  1. The data only cover claims made against national health service trusts, NHS foundation trusts or primary care trusts.  2. The year represents the year the claim closed, not the year of incident nor the year the claim was made.

NHS: Negligence

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinical negligence cases the NHS  (a) won and  (b) lost in each of the last three financial years.

Ann Keen: The information requested is in the following table and was obtained from the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA).
	
		
			  Number of claims won and lost by the NHSLA by year claims were closed 
			  Year claim closed  Number of claims—nil damages 'won'  Number of claims with damages 'lost' 
			 2005-06 3,541 3,564 
			 2006-07 3,330 3,209 
			 2007-08 3,054 3,630 
			  Notes: 1. The data only cover claims made against national health services trusts, NHS foundation trusts or primary care trusts.  2. Claims 'won' are claims where the NHSLA did not pay damages. Claims 'lost' are claims where the NHSLA paid damages.  3. The numbers represent the number of cases closed per year, not the number of incidents reported per year nor the number of claims made in a year.

NHS: Negligence

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of clinical negligence litigation involving the NHS there were in each of the last three financial years; and how many of those cases were financed by legal aid.

Ann Keen: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) provided the data requested in the following table. The data only cover claims relating to national health service trusts, NHS foundation trusts, and primary care trusts.
	
		
			  Number of clinical negligence claims received 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2008 and their claimant funding as at 31 March 2008 
			  NHSLA notification year  Before the event insurance  Conditional fee arrangement  Legal services commission  Self funded  Not identified  Total 
			 2005-06 275 1,346 1,537 670 1,872 5,700 
			 2006-07 329 1,503 1,313 597 1,678 5,420 
			 2007-08 319 1,501 965 489 2,196 5,470 
			 Total 923 4,350 3,815 1,756 5,746 16,590 
			  Note: Claimants are only required to provide details of funding arrangements if a case proceeds to court.

NHS: Questionnaires

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2008,  Official Report, column 207W, on NHS questionnaires, how many responses were received for each of the four surveys carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of his Department in the financial year 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is as follows:
	 General practitioner patient survey
	Survey results for Access and Choice are in the process of being collated and analysed. Results will be published in July 2008.
	 What matters to Staff survey
	A total of 9,080 questionnaires were returned from trusts and general practice staff.
	 National patient choice survey
	Results for wave 7 (May 2007) based on 75,191 respondents;
	Results for wave 8 (July 2007) based on 62,264 respondents;
	Results for wave 9 (September 2007) based on 92,545 respondents; and
	Results for wave 10 (November 2007) based on 77,804 respondents.
	 18 Weeks patient experience pilot
	The 18 weeks patient experience pilot was managed as two phases during 2007-08. In phase 1, there were 1,580 respondents. In phase 2, there were 18,656 respondents.

Nursery Nurses: Manpower

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified community nursery nurses were employed in each primary care trust in each year for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: holding answer 1 May 2008
	Information on the number of qualified nursery nurses in community services employed by each primary care trust in England since 1995 has been placed in the Library.

Obesity

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish the first annual review on progress towards meeting targets under the New Ambition on Healthy Weight initiative.

Dawn Primarolo: The first annual review of progress towards meeting targets under the new ambition on healthy weight initiative will be published in spring 2009.

Osteoporosis: Females

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to provide women with accurate information on how to prevent osteoporotic fractures post-menopause; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Through the NHS Choices website, we are providing the public with information to help them make informed decisions about their health, lifestyle choices and any treatments that they need. This includes information on lifestyle factors that may prevent osteoporosis, osteoporosis treatments and advice to reduce the risk of falling.
	NHS Choices contains evidence-based information drawn from sources such as NHS Direct and the National Electronic Library for Health and ensures that health professionals are able to refer their patients to a comprehensive source of information that is quality assured.

Osteoporosis: Greater London

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of treating fractures resulting from osteoporosis in London, broken down by primary care trust area in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally. However, information is available on the average cost to national health service providers of providing a range of fracture treatments. This information is collected each year through the NHS reference cost collection exercise. Copies of the national schedule of reference costs for 2006-07, "NHS Reference Costs 2006-07", are available in the Library. The information is also available on the Departments website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH082571

Pharmacy

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the procedure for considering applications to open pharmacies within the areas of dispensing GP practices.

Dawn Primarolo: Current arrangements in rural areas reflect previous agreements between representative bodies of pharmacists and doctors.
	Our White Paper 'Pharmacy in England, Building on strengths, delivering the future' sets out a number of proposals for structural reform including market entry. We are currently holding public events to hear views on these on which there will be full consultation later this summer.

Prescriptions

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the Information Centre to publish proposals for the use of practice-level prescribing data, as announced in the Information Centre's presentation to the Inaugural Supplier Forum of 7 November 2007; whether he intends to ask the Information Centre to consult on these proposals; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Information Centre for health and social care agreed to produce a review document seeking to determine whether it will be possible to make practice-level prescribing data more accessible to the private sector with due regard to appropriate legislation, current departmental policy and the professional regulations of those involved in the supply of prescriptions.
	This review is ongoing and there are currently no proposals for the release of practice-level prescribing data or any anticipated dates for changes to the current position.

Transplant Surgery

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the actions of the Human Tissue Authority in the case of Laura Ashworth and Rachel Leake; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Human Tissue Act 2004 places responsibility on the Human Tissue Authority for implementing the consent requirements of the Act, which cover consent for the transplantation of organs.
	There has been a long established principle that donated organs from deceased donors are matched and allocated to the person on the transplant waiting list who is most in need and who provides the best match.

Tuberculosis: Medical Treatments

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support his Department has allocated to developing more effective treatments for drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Ivan Lewis: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) arises mostly from either poor or incomplete previous treatment of TB. The key to tackling drug resistance is to prevent it developing in the first place, and our strategy is focused on strengthening national health service TB services to improve early case detection and completion of treatment.
	The TB Toolkit launched last year provides models of best practice for the national health service to deliver TB services. We have also funded the British Thoracic Society to establish a clinical advisory network to advise on treatment of drug-resistant cases. We are also funding work to raise awareness of TB among health care professionals and groups at higher risk of TB.

Urology: Medical Equipment

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will list each of the consultations undertaken on the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances, giving in each case the dates of commencement and closure; when he expects the process to be complete; how much is has cost; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how the opinions of patients has been sought in the consultations conducted on the provision of stoma and incontinence products; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The current review of the arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances—and related services—in primary care began in October 2005 and has followed the following timetable:
	
		
			  Consultation  Opened  Closed  Key purpose 
			 Arrangements for the provision of dressings, incontinence appliances, stoma appliances, chemical reagents and other appliances to primary and secondary care 24 October 2005 23 January 2006 Joint consultation; setting out objectives 
			 Arrangements for the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances and related support services to patients under Part IX of the Drug Tariff 27 July 2006 11 September 2006 Sought views on service specification and broad classification 
			 Arrangements for the reimbursement pricing of stoma and incontinence appliances under Part IX of the Drug Tariff 23 November 2006 2 April 2007 Sought views on classification of items and reduction in reimbursement 
			 Arrangements for the remuneration of services relating to appliances within Part IX of the Drug Tariff 23 November 2006 2 April 2007 Sought views on service provision and remuneration for same 
			 Proposed amendments to the Regulatory Terms of Service of Pharmacy and Appliance Contractors in relation to dispensing items listed in Part IX of the Drug Tariff 5 March 2007 2 April 2007 Given proposed service provision, sought views on amendments to terms of service 
			 Arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances—and related services—to primary care, revised proposals. 6 September 2007 28 December 2007 Sought views on new proposals relating to reimbursement, service provision and remuneration - and terms of service 
		
	
	A further consultation will be published in May 2008, together with an impact assessment and equality impact assessment, and will be open for 12 weeks. No statement can be made as to when the process will be complete until that consultation has concluded.
	Costs to date have been £2.4 million, but this does include the work that was done on chemical reagents and dressings in 2005 and 2006. These costs were for the services of professional advisers. The Department's costs are part of its ongoing operational budget.
	The new arrangements for reagents and dressings which came into effect in October 2006 are delivering savings of £24 million year to primary care.
	A wide range of patients groups have been involved in the consultation process and users have helped to inform policy at every stage.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Consultants

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what payments his Department made to AS Biss and Company in each of the last five years; and on what date and for what purpose the payment was made in each case.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development has made one single payment to AS Biss and Company of £42,652 in August 2006 for a study on how "DFID has succeeded in influencing multilateral working in the Western Balkans".

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many freedom of information requests made to his Department were  (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days,  (b) not answered and  (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the Act came into force.

Gillian Merron: The Ministry of Justice has published two annual reports containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies (including central Government Departments) in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following address:
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/statisticsAndReports.htm
	The 2007 annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via the MOJ website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires public bodies to respond to written requests within 20 working days of receipt, but allows additional time for the consideration of the public interest in disclosing the requested information.
	The published reports provide statistics on the number of "non-routine" requests received during each period where: an initial response was provided within 20 working days; an initial response was given outside this time but a public interest test extension had been applied; an initial response was given outside this time and no public interest test extension was applied, and where no initial response had been given at the time the statistics were collected.
	The 2006 annual report provides statistics on the duration of the public interest test extensions in that year. Corresponding statistics for 2007 will be available when the 2007 annual report is published.
	Information requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered "in time" (i.e. meeting the deadline or with a permitted extension) in 2007 was 77 per cent.
	For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the Department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOI exemption or EIR exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 25, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to "information available by other means" are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Departmental ICT

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1381W, on departmental ICT, how many of the lost or stolen  (a) laptops and  (b) personal digital assistants have been replaced by his Department; and at what cost.

Shahid Malik: The information is as follows.
	
		
			  Item  Number lost, missing or stolen (since 2001)  Number replaced  Cost of replacement (£) 
			 Personal digital assistant (PDA) 2 2 240 
			 Laptop 32 32 25,824 
		
	
	The Department for International (DFID) has a large mobile workforce that requires the tools to enable them to work remotely. Laptops and PDA's are essential business tools for them and as such they are replaced if the originals are lost or stolen.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1182W, on the Departmental internet, whether Wikipedia entries have been created or amended by officials in his Department who are not special advisers or communications officials.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) Officials (excluding special advisers and communication officials) have from time to time updated Wikipedia entries, and may also have created entries. In addition to the legitimate benefit that such activities can have in terms of knowledge and information sharing, DFID's IT policy also allows private use of the web, including Wikipedia, by staff in their own time, provided such activity is in line with the Civil Service Code.

Departmental Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the  (a) rate and  (b) cost was of employer contributions for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department has responsibility in each year since 1990-91; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: In respect of members of the defined benefit schemes, employer contribution rates are assessed for each of four ranges of pay levels. The rates for 2008-09 are:
	
		
			  Band  Full-time annual salary(£)  Rate from 1 April 2008 (percentage) 
			 Band 1 19,500 and under 17.1 
			 Band 2 19,501 to 40,500 19.5 
			 Band 3 40,501 to 69,000 23.2 
			 Band 4 69,001 and above 25.5 
		
	
	The scheme rules are laid before Parliament and copies are in the House Library.
	For members of the partnership (defined contribution scheme), the employer pays a basic contribution of between 3 per cent. and 12.5 per cent. (depending on the age of the member) into a stakeholder pension product and will match the member's contribution up to a limit of 3 per cent. Employers also contribute a further 0.8 per cent. of pensionable salary to cover the cost of risk benefit cover (death in service and ill health retirement).
	For 2007-08 Department for International Development (DFID) paid employers' contributions of £13,995,973.
	Information on previous years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Developing Countries: Agriculture

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the findings and options of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development reports to be presented to the Intergovernmental Plenary; and what steps he plans to take in tackling hunger, rural poverty and environmental degradation in the light of that assessment.

Douglas Alexander: The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) is a unique assessment involving governments, civil society and academics. The IAASTD reports are a useful contribution to the debate and understanding on agricultural knowledge, science and technology and its potential to reduce poverty and hunger around the world. Given increasing food prices and their impact on poor people they are also very timely. However, while presenting an overall consensus the IAASTD reports do reflect a diversity of views on some issues, for example on modern biotechnology.
	My Department will be considering the options presented by the IAASTD and the implications this has for the UK's support to developing countries on agricultural research to help tackle hunger, rural poverty and environmental degradation. Many of the issues raised by the IAASTD, for example land degradation and impact of agricultural trade on poor farmers have already been identified by DFID, and are highlighted in our new five year research strategy which I launched on 22 April.

Developing Countries: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps the Government have taken to encourage developing countries to provide education to girls as well as boys.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 1 May 2008
	The UK Government have committed £8.5 billion for education over the 10 years to 2015-16 in support of education sector plans in developing countries.
	The Department for International Development works with developing country governments to ensure gender equality is effectively addresses in education sector plans to ensure that girls, as well as boys, benefit. Our work with international and non-governmental organisations like UNICEF and the United Nations Girls Education Initiative, tackles social and economic barriers outside the education system that hinder girls' participation.
	Last July (2007), the Prime Minister and United Nations' Secretary General Ban Ki Moon launched an MDG Call to Action to urge the international community to accelerate actions to achieve the Millennium Development Goals—including the Education goals. Girls' education is central to both the Education MDG and the Maternal Mortality MDG—both of which are key pillars of the Call to Action.

Developing Countries: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps the Government have taken to assist developing countries in the funding of education.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 1 May 2008
	The UK Government have committed £8.5 billion for education in developing countries over the 10 years to 2015-16. During the French President Sarkozy's recent visit to London, the UK and France agreed to each help support 8 million children in school by 2010.
	The UK Government are actively engaged in galvanising international political action in support of Education for All. The G8 reaffirmed its commitment that no country committed to Education for All will be thwarted in their efforts through lack of resources, and we continue to urge other donors to meet their promises on education.
	Education is one of the key pillars of the Call to Action. We are working with the United Nations and other donors to accelerate action in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We hope to see a concrete Action Plan being agreed at the international conference, being held in New York on 25 September.

Gaza: Politics and Government

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of  (a) the humanitarian situation in Gaza and  (b) the effectiveness of the international community's policies to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza over the last two years.

Douglas Alexander: The UK Government are extremely concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza. 64 per cent. of Gaza's population is at least partly dependent on food aid and 90 per cent. of mains water is polluted. Access through crossings between Gaza and Israel remains restricted although limited deliveries of emergency food aid, medicines and commercial items have been allowed in. However, the size and frequency of these deliveries are insufficient to meet the broader needs of the population.
	The problem is not a lack of support from the international community, rather the continued restrictions on access to Gaza.
	The European Commission (EC) created the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) in 2006. Before the TIM was subsumed into the new PEGASE mechanism in March 2007, the EC and European Union members provided €455 million (£361 million) of funding through it. The TIM was a successful emergency assistance mechanism and PEGASE will continue to provide an effective means of supporting essential services and the livelihoods of key, frontline workers. Further international community support over the past two years has been channelled through UN agencies and NGOs providing humanitarian assistance and supporting basic services.
	In response to restrictions on imports into Gaza the UK and others have consistently encouraged the Government of Israel to facilitate the provision of humanitarian support. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I released a statement to this effect on 8 February and we continue to raise the matter with the Israeli authorities.

Gaza: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether funding for public sector salaries and the maintenance of basic services in Gaza is being provided by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank; and what contribution is being made from the UK aid budget.

Douglas Alexander: The Palestinian Authority provides funding for basic services such as health and education in Gaza, paying the salaries of public sector workers. During 2007-08, the UK contributed £38.45 million for Palestinian Authority services and employees in both Gaza and the West Bank through the Temporary International Mechanism, PEGASE and the new World Bank Reform Trust Fund.

India: Overseas Aid

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds his Department provided to the  (a) Food and Drug Capacity Building Project,  (b) Orissa Health Systems Development Project,  (c) Second National Aids Control Project,  (d) Malaria Control Project and  (e) Tuberculosis Control Project in India in each year from 2001-02 to 2007-08.

Shahid Malik: These five projects are World Bank projects that were the subject of a recent World Bank Detailed Implementation Review (DIR) which found indications of fraud and corruption. All the projects were funded by the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA). The UK provided around 10.4 per cent. of donor funds to IDA during the period in question. The World Bank's Board of Directors discussed the DIR on 13 March and endorsed World Bank and Government of India Action Plans to address problems identified in the DIR.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) separately supports health projects in India through its bilateral programme. During these years, DFID supported the second phase of India's National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), through a multi-agency programme with the Government of India, UN agencies and civil society organisations. Total expenditure on this project was £4,949,875, £19,996,646, £28,606,262 and £12,032,842 in 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively. DFID is reviewing its support to NACP to ensure that any implications for DFID funding from the DIR are being robustly addressed.

Kenya: HIV Infection

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent in Kenya on HIV/AIDS control in each year from 2001-02 to 2007-08; and on what projects.

Douglas Alexander: The UK Government's HIV/AIDS Programme in Kenya supports the implementation of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy which aims for universal access to prevention, treatment and care. In addition, our education programme has supported the integration of a successful HIV/AIDS prevention programme in 18,500 primary schools. Details of expenditure are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Projects  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 HIV and Aids Prevention and Care Project (HAPAC) 4.4 6.8 3.2 7.1 6.6 6.7 2.1 
			 Primary School Action for Better Health — — — — — 0.9 1.2 
			 Social Marketing of Condoms — — 1 1.8 1.5 0.9 1.2

Latin America: Overseas Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when his Department's regional assistance plan (2008-11) for Latin America will be published.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development's (DFID) future support to Latin America will be provided through civil society organisations and international institutions. We will also continue to work on Brazil's global role in development. A summary of our programme will be produced and made publicly available (although this will not be in the form of a regional assistance plan). This document will be available by the end of 2008.

Palestinians: EU Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the  (a) budget,  (b) objectives and  (c) mechanisms for disbursement of aid to the Palestinians from the European Union's PEGASE fund are.

Douglas Alexander: For 2008 the European Commission has committed €300 million (£238 million) to PEGASE and member states are finalising their individual contributions.
	There is no upper ceiling for PEGASE contributions. In March 2008 the UK provided £15.45 million through PEGASE to support public sector salaries.
	PEGASE is designed to support the Palestinian Authority's three year Reform and Development programme (PROP). The PRDP will focus upon governance reform and development of the social, economic and public infrastructure sectors.
	PEGASE covers the full European Commission programme of support to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as the former Temporary International Mechanism (TIM). PEGASE will widen the scope of the former TIM to cover support for private sector arrears and funding provided directly to the PA. PEGASE will retain comprehensive and secure monitoring and control systems that were put into place under the TIM.

Sri Lanka: Overseas Aid

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of whether UNICEF funds donated to educational projects in Sri Lanka are being properly spent on those projects; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: As Sri Lanka is now a middle income country, there is no UK bilateral aid programme of support to Sri Lanka. The Department for International Development's (DFID) bilateral programme ended in March 2007.
	Instead, DFID works in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide peace building support to Sri Lanka by pooling funds through the conflict prevention pool (CPP). DFID does not currently fund any UNICEF education projects.
	Through the conflict prevention pool, the UK funds UNICEF's human rights and poverty programme called "Children Affected by Armed Conflict".
	To ensure that conflict prevention pool funds are properly spent, projects are regularly monitored by the High Commission in Colombo and three UK Government Departments responsible for the pooled funds in the UK. Quarterly reviews are conducted jointly by the High Commission and the three departments in London. An internal annual review of projects is also conducted.

Sudan: Food Aid

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received on the effect of increased levels of banditry in Darfur on the delivery of food supplies, and in particular the World Food Programme; and how many  (a) people and  (b) children this has put at risk.

Gillian Merron: Due to increased levels of banditry, the World Food Programme (WFP) is currently delivering 900 metric tons per day to WFP warehouses, only half as much food as is needed in Darfur
	The WFP provided food to 3.1 million people in March, including 2.4 million in Darfur. 1.6 million of the total were children, including 1.2 million in Darfur. This is likely to rise as the rainy season begins in May/June. The WFP will cut rations of cereals, pulses and sugar for Darfur by half in May. Rations will therefore have 42 per cent. less calorific value.
	To mitigate this, WFP will continue to provide blanket feeding for children under five in targeted areas in South and West Darfur, and plans to introduce this throughout North Darfur, where the highest malnutrition rates were reported in 2007. It will resume school feeding when schools reopen in June.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what arrangements exist for UK-based law enforcement agencies to investigate allegations of misconduct by  (a) British nationals and  (b) nationals of other countries, other than Iraq, who are employees of private military or security companies contracted to work in Iraq by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	If any personnel employed by organisations contracted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) were suspected of committing a crime in Iraq but appeared to be immune from Iraqi legal process, the FCO would refer them to the disciplinary authority of their employing organisation with a view to having them removed from our contract in Iraq and would also bring the matter to the attention of the UK police and/or the authorities of the individual's nationality. The decision whether to pursue a criminal investigation and ultimately whether a prosecution should be undertaken in an individual case would be a matter for the police and prosecuting authorities, acting independently from the Government.
	In the case of suspected non-criminal misconduct, we would take up the matter with the employing organisation, and either investigate the matter or have the employing organisation do so and report back to us, depending on the circumstances and the nature of the allegations.

JUSTICE

Departmental Freedom of Information

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much  (a) has been spent by the Information Commissioner's Office and  (b) paid to the Commissioner's counsel in relation to the appeals to the Information Tribunal relating to freedom of information requests made by (i) Campaign Against Arms Trade (EA/2007/40) and (ii) Nicholas Gilby (EA/2007/71/78/79).

Michael Wills: The Information Commissioner is an independent body created by statute with responsibility for handling complaints made to him under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
	The Commissioner's Office does not maintain separate records of the total internal cost incurred for handling each case where his decision on a complaint is appealed to the Information Tribunal.
	The total paid to counsel by the Commissioner for the appeals made by the Campaign against the Arms Trade and by Nicholas Gilby was £12,337.51. Parts of the appeals were heard together as evidence was provided by the same witness. Therefore the amount paid to counsel covered both appeals and was not billed or invoiced separately.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time posts in his Department were filled on a temporary basis for a period in excess of six months in each of the last three years.

Bridget Prentice: The number of unfilled permanent posts being filled temporarily is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. However, information on contractors, consultants and Agency staff excluding Public Sector Prison Service covering full-time and part-time vacancies or other posts engaged for more than six-months is reflected in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Ministry of Justice (excluding Public Sector Prison Service)—Contractors and Agency staff in posts in excess of six months over the past 3 financial years 
			  Headcount 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Ministry of Justice' Headquarters (former Department for Constitutional Affairs )
			 Contractor 1 0 7 
			 Agency staff member 1 1 2 
			  Ministry of Justice' Agencies National Offender Management Service
			 Contractor 26 0 5 
			 Agency staff member 17 13 17 
			  Ministry of Justice' Agencies Office of Criminal Justice Reform
			 Contractor 44 2 4 
			 Agency staff member 2 3 0 
			 
			 Ministry of Justice total (excluding Public Sector Prison Service) 91 19 35 
			  Notes: 1. The information held does not reflect these contractors, consultants and Agency staff filling permanent, vacant posts on a temporary basis. 2. The information reflects contractors, consultants and Agency staff excluding Public Sector Prison Service covering full-time and part-time vacancies or other posts engaged for more than six-months.

Electoral Register

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what evidence there is that a move to individual registration would increase under-registration of those who are legally entitled to vote.

Bridget Prentice: The only comparable evidence that a move to individual registration would increase under registration in Great Britain is what happened in Northern Ireland. The Electoral Commission report, 'Electoral Registration in Northern Ireland', published in 2004, found a decrease of 10 per cent. in the number of names included on the August 2002 register and the December 2002 register, equating to approximately 120,000 fewer names. Since this time the situation has improved, as demonstrated by ONS figures which confirm the number of electors for 2007 grew by 50,078 (4.7 per cent.) to 1,120,343 for parliamentary elections and by 50,857 (4.7 per cent.) to 1,125,935 for local government elections.
	The report concluded that the system of registration could make it difficult for specific groups in society to access the electoral process. These included young people and students, people with learning disabilities and other forms of disability and those living in areas of high social deprivation.
	Any new system of electoral registration in GB would need to be tailored to current circumstances, and in particular would need to address the challenge of under-registration in GB, where an estimated 3.5 million eligible electors are not registered to vote.
	We are already committed to the principle of individual registration. But this would be a far-reaching reform, and it would need to be undertaken with great care—both to make sure a new system is robust, and to ensure that it properly tackles the problem of under-registration.
	Our vision for electoral registration is clear: We want to protect the rights of every eligible person to participate in the United Kingdom's democratic process by ensuring complete, accurate and secure electoral registration.

Electoral Register: Information and Communications Technology

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the technical specifications of the Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors' database will allow the introduction of individual electoral registration.

Michael Wills: Any work that is carried out in respect of individual registration will be done on its own merits, and is not reliant on the progress of the CORE Project.
	A final decision as to the scope and specification of the CORE project will be made once an analysis of both the business and user requirements has been made. However, in accordance with good practice on the management of projects, any database that is developed will be, as far as is possible, capable of adapting to future requirements that may be anticipated.

Fraud: Elections

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions were brought against Commonwealth citizens for voting in UK elections when they did not have indefinite leave to remain in the UK in the last two years.

Bridget Prentice: Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, all Commonwealth citizens who are lawfully resident in the UK may vote in UK elections. It is a matter for local electoral officers to ensure they have included eligible persons on their electoral registers, and to take appropriate action where it is thought that electoral law has been breached. My Department does not hold central data on the numbers of prosecutions brought against persons voting at UK elections who are not eligible to do so.

Land Registry Board: Pay

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what change in pay each member of the Land Registry Board received in each of the last five years, giving the percentage change in each case.

Michael Wills: Pay for Land Registry staff in the Senior Civil Service (SCS), including Board members, is governed by a centrally determined pay system for which the Cabinet Office is responsible. Land Registry, along with all other departments and agencies, applies the pay system to its SCS members of staff in accordance with the guidance provided by the Cabinet Office. The level of SCS base pay awards and bonuses are recommended to the government each year by an independent review body, the Senior Salaries Review Body.
	The following table, taken from the audited accounts of Land Registry's annual report and accounts from 2002-03 to 2006-07, covers the gross salary and bonuses received during the financial year for each executive member of the Land Registry Board. In accordance with the Financial Reporting Manual issued by HM Treasury, Land Registry discloses the salary details of each director, including any allowances, in bands of £5,000. Presentation in this form is required in order to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.
	As the answer is necessarily restricted to pay bands, providing percentage changes year on year for individual directors is inappropriate. The salary details of Land Registry directors for 2007-08 will be available in similar bandings when this year's annual report and accounts has been audited. Copies will be laid before Parliament before the summer recess.
	
		
			  £ thousand 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Chief Land Registrar and Chief Executive 115-120 125-130 135-140 145-150 150-155 
			 Deputy Chief Executive and Business Development Director 100-105 105-110 110-115 115-120 125-130 
			 Director of Operations 80-85 95-100 100-105 110-115 120-125 
			 Director of Legal Services 90-95 100-105 110-115 115-120 120-125 
			 Director of Human Resources 65-75 75-80 80-85 85-90 95-100 
			 Finance Director 75-80 80-85 80-85 85-90 90-95 
			 Director of Information Systems 65-70 70-75 75-80 (1)35-40 90-95 
			 (1)50-55  
			 (1 )Reflects change in Director of Information Systems during year  Source:  Audited accounts for 2005-06

Legal Opinion: Standards

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms are in place to improve the transparency of law firms' no-win no-fee offers.

Bridget Prentice: The regulation of agreements between solicitors and their clients is a matter for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Under the SRA's Code of Conduct, solicitors are required to provide clients with the information necessary to make appropriate decisions about if, and how, their matter should proceed. Clients should also be given the best information possible about the likely costs and other charges both at the outset and, when appropriate, as the matter progresses. Where the code is not complied with the SRA can, and do, take regulatory action.

Members

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prevent hon. Members from also being  (a) members of a devolved legislature and  (b) local councillors.

Jack Straw: The Government have no current plans to amend the eligibility criteria for membership of the House of Commons as set out in the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will reply to the letter, dated 28 March 2008, transferred from the Cabinet Office, on parliamentary elections.

Bridget Prentice: I replied to the hon. Member on 23 April.

Mortgages: Repossesion Orders

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many mortgage possession orders were made in each county court in England in each year since 1997.

Bridget Prentice: Copies of a table, showing the number of mortgage possession orders (including suspended orders) made in all county courts of England since 1997, have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	These figures do not indicate how many properties have actually been repossessed, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
	The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, county courts' jurisdictions are not coterminous with administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore a single court's repossession actions could relate to properties in a number of different constituencies or local authority areas.

Offenders: Deportation

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners were  (a) released from prison and  (b) removed from the UK in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: The following table shows the number of adult and young adult foreign national discharges from determinate sentences on completion of sentence in each year between 2003 and 2007 from all prison establishments in England and Wales. Information on the numbers released from Scottish and Northern Irish prisons is the responsibility of the Scottish Executive and the Northern Irish Prison Service. Data have been rounded to the nearest 100.
	
		
			  Foreign national discharges from prison (England and Wales) 
			   Number 
			 2003 6,200 
			 2004 6,500 
			 2005 7,900 
			 2006 7,300 
			 2007 7,400 
		
	
	Data for 2007 have not been published, and as such are provisional.
	The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has regularly updated the Home Affairs Committee with the most robust and accurate information relating to the deportation and removal of foreign national prisoners. Copies of her letters to the Committee are available in the library of the House. She advised the Committee during her appearance of 15 January that over 4,200 foreign national prisoners had been removed or deported from the United Kingdom in 2007. Information prior to April 2006 is not available due to data quality issues. Foreign national prisoners removed or deported in 2007 may have been discharged from prison in previous years.

Police Custody

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which police authorities or chief constables have notified his Department that they will not provide it with police cells after a specified date; what the date is in each case; and how many police cells are currently provided to his Department by those authorities.

Jack Straw: Police cells are made available through Operation Safeguard under an agreement between ACPO and the National Offender Management Service. Those forces that do not participate in Operation Safeguard provide cells as ad hoc lockouts. No police force has advised my Department that they will not make cells available to hold prisoners.

Prison Service: Emergencies

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what operational emergencies were declared by each prison in each of the last 12 months; and what the date of each was.

Jack Straw: An operational emergency is determined and may be declared locally by a prison governor in response to specific operational circumstances arising in an individual establishment or nationally by the director-general or chief operating officer of the National Offender Management Service (formerly DG and DDG of HM Prison Service) in response to wider concerns within the service.
	There have been four occurrences when a clear operational emergency has been declared by the DG/COO under these procedures in the last 12 months. Three of these involved bringing into immediate use additional places at individual establishments. One was a national issue, to facilitate immediate staffing of court cells.
	A central record of operational emergencies declared locally is not maintained and an exercise to collate these figures would be at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Date  Establishment  Reason for operational emergency 
			 May 2007 National Population pressures required the immediate staffing of court cells 
			
			 June 2007 Blakenhurst Population pressures exacerbated by flooding in the area required the immediate use of additional overcrowding places 
			
			 April 2008 Bullingdon Population pressures required the immediate use of additional overcrowding places 
			  Cardiff Population pressures required the immediate use of additional overcrowding places

Prison Service: Emergencies

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's definition of operational emergency is in relation to prisons and young offender institutions; and what such operational emergencies have taken place in  (a) the Prison Service and  (b) privately-managed prisons in each of the last 36 months.

Jack Straw: The specific circumstances constituting an operational emergency within HMPS are not explicitly defined.
	An operational emergency is determined and may be declared locally by a prison governor in response to specific operational circumstances arising in an individual establishment or nationally by the director-general or chief operating officer of the National Offender Management Service (formerly DG and DDG of HM Prison Service) in response to wider concerns within the service.
	Within the terms of the Joint Industrial Relations Procedural Agreement (in place with the Prison Officers Association) and the Voluntary Agreement in place with the Prison Governors Association) an operational emergency is specifically defined in the following terms:
	"An occasion where staff will be required to act contrary to the terms of an agreement whether national or local, when events make such action necessary having been identified as a clear operational emergency. Management will aim to give as much notice as possible to the POA and such a situation can only be designated by the DG or DDG who will state the reasons for so doing in writing."
	There have been 10 recorded occasions when a clear operational emergency has been declared by the DG/DDG under these procedures in the last 36 months. Eight of these involved bringing into immediate use additional accommodation or places at individual establishments. Two were national issues, one requiring immediate implementation of Prison Service Instruction 17/07—Maximising occupancy in the open estate, and one to facilitate immediate staffing of court cells.
	A central record of operational emergencies declared locally is not maintained and an exercise to collate these figures would be at disproportionate cost.

Prisoners

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of the prison population was born in  (a) Britain,  (b) EU-15 countries,  (c) EU A8 countries,  (d) other EEA countries,  (e) Africa,  (f) North America,  (g) Central America,  (h) South America,  (i) the Middle East,  (j) Asia and  (k) Oceania in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: Data on prisoners' country of birth are not available.
	The following table gives figures and proportions for the numbers of prisoners by nationality held in all prisons in England and Wales from  (a) Britain  (b) EU 15 countries  (c) EU A8 countries  (d) other EEA countries  (e) Africa  (f) North America  (g) and  (h) Central and South America  (i) Middle East  (j) Asia and  (k) Oceania with other categories in each year since 1997.
	
		
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Total prison population 61,467 65,727 64,529 65,194 66,403 71,218 73,657 74,488 76,190 77,982 79,734 
			 
			  (a) UK National 56,611 60,393 59,074 59,043 58,732 62,553 63,614 64,379 66,670 66,160 67,760 
			  (b) EU 15 Countries (not UK) 1,274 1,425 1,515 1,490 1,535 1,462 1,552 1,659 1,619 1,683 1,526 
			  (c) EU AS countries (post 2004) — — — — — — — 170 334 574 688 
			  (d) Other EEA countries (Excludes Romania and Bulgaria until 2007 and Cyprus and Malta until 2004) 0 3 3 0 2 4 2 75 63 73 253 
			  (e) Africa 920 921 919 878 1,158 1,297 1,629 1,877 2,430 2,960 3,202 
			  (f) North America 111 135 133 124 119 98 120 124 103 126 124 
			  (g) and  (h) Central America and South America 158 170 199 201 210 210 273 284 302 373 371 
			  (i) Middle East 118 124 135 164 201 210 406 424 563 672 670 
			  (j)Asia 868 914 906 776 1,001 856 1,069 1,100 1,311 1,665 1,892 
			  (k) Oceania 46 49 42 63 38 42 43 41 48 43 46 
			  (l) West Indies 811 884 1,008 1,222 1,856 2,758 3,020 2,463 2,040 1,840 1,639 
			  (m) Unrecorded 179 201 68 543 755 946 1,132 1,168 869 944 877 
			  (n) Other Europe (includes EU A8 Countries until 2004 and Romania and Bulgaria until 2007 and Cyprus and Malta until 2004) 369 505 525 671 793 775 879 718 824 861 681 
			 
			  As percentage of all prisoners  
			  (a) UK National 92 92 92 91 88 88 86 86 86 85 85 
			  (b) EU 15 Countries (not UK) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			  (c) EU A8 countries (post 2004) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			  (d) Other EEA countries (Excludes Romania and Bulgaria until 2007 and Cyprus and Malta until 2004) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  (e) Africa 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 
			  (f) North America 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  (g) and  (h) Central America and South America 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  (i) Middle East 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 
			  (j)Asia 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 
			  (k) Oceania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  (l) West Indies 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 3 3 2 2 
			  (m) Unrecorded 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 
			  (n) Other Europe (includes EU A8 Countries until 2004 and Romania and Bulgaria until 2007 and Cyprus and Malta until 2004) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
		
	
	For the purposes of this table, and allowing for changes in EU membership over time, countries have been categorised in the following way.
	EU 15 countries are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden.
	EU A8 countries are: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia.
	Other EEA countries: (i) In EU: Cyprus, Malta, Romania, Bulgaria, and (ii) not in EU: Norway, Lichtenstein and Iceland.
	Cyprus and Malta acceded to the EU (and consequently the EEA) in 2004; Romania and Bulgaria in 2007. The table reflects these timings.
	Other Europe: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Russia (or Russian Federation), San Marino, Serbia, (with Montenegro after 2002), Switzerland, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yugoslavia.
	Figures for the West Indies and "Other Europe" are included in the answer for completeness.
	All the figures in the aforementioned table can be found in Population in Custody 2007, Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003-06 and Prison Statistics England and Wales 1997-2002, at the following website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics.htm
	Copies of these publications can be found in the House of Commons Library.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners Release: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners released before the end of their sentence returned to an address in Wales in each of the last 12 months.

David Hanson: Under the Criminal Justice Act 1991, those sentenced to determinate sentences of four years or more are eligible for parole halfway through their sentence. If parole is not granted then release occurs at the two-thirds point of the sentence (or at a subsequent parole review if earlier).
	The 'Home Detention Curfew' scheme (HDC) has been in operation since January 1999. Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria and passing a careful risk assessment, prisoners serving sentences of between three months and less than four years may be released up to four and a half months (135 days) early from prison subject to an electronically monitored curfew normally between 7 pm and 7 am.
	The 'End of Custody Licence' (ECL) was introduced on 29 June 2007. Eligible prisoners serving between four weeks and less than four years may be released under licence from prison up to 18 days before their automatic release date.
	The information requested could be produced only at disproportionate cost. The available information relates to the number of releases of prisoners on HDC, ECL and Parole from each of the four prisons in Wales: Cardiff, Parc, Swansea and Usk/Prescoed.
	Figures showing the numbers of prisoners released on (i) Home Detention Curfew (2007) and (ii) End of Custody Licence (between 29 June and 31 December 2007) and (iii) releases on parole (2007) from prison establishments in Wales are in the following table:
	
		
			   All  Cardiff  Parc  Swansea  Usk/Prescoed 
			 HDC releases from Welsh prison establishments, 2007 368 70 147 60 91 
			   
			 ECL releases from Welsh prison establishments, 29 June—31 December 2007 826 188 436 144 58 
			   
			 Parole releases from Welsh prison establishments, 2007 52 4 11 2 35 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Voting Methods

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what pilots of weekend voting have taken place to date; in which local authority areas; and on which dates.

Michael Wills: Two local authorities have piloted weekend voting at local elections on both the Saturday and Sunday, in addition to voting on the traditional polling day. They were Manchester in 2000 and the London Borough of Camden in 2002.
	15 local authorities have also piloted voting at the weekend at local elections which included voting either on a Saturday or Sunday or both, as well as other advance voting days, in addition to voting on the traditional polling day. These were:
	
		
			   Name of Authority 
			 May 2000 Blackburn, Coventry, Kingston-upon-Hull, Knowsley, Norwich, Plymouth, Redditch, St Helens, Sunderland and Watford. 
			 May 2006 Broxbourne and Tyne and Wear (Gateshead, Newcastle, South Tyneside and Sunderland) 
			 May 2007 Bedford, Broxbourne and Gateshead

Young Offender Institutions: Restraint Techniques

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many injuries were sustained by juvenile and young adult offenders held in  (a) young offender institutions and  (b) secure children's homes during restrictive physical interventions in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Young adults are not placed in secure children's homes. The Youth Justice Board has been collecting restraint data against common definitions across the secure estate since April 2007. The following table shows the requested information for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 January 2008 in relation to under-18 young offender institutions and secure children's homes. It comprises all cases where any treatment (however minor) was required. Information on injuries to young adults in senior young offender institutions is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Establishment type  Number of injuries 
			 Young offender institutions 67 
			 Secure children's homes 21 
			  Source: Data supplied by the Youth Justice Board from administrative computer systems

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received on the prevention of violence against children in the penal system.

David Hanson: The Government have received a number of representations from Members of Parliament and members of the public relating to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's 'Children in Custody Deserve Care Not Cruelty' campaign.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Charities: Finance

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which charities receive funding from the public purse to increase the numbers of young volunteers.

Phil Hope: The youth volunteering charity v is funded by the Office of the Third Sector to commission third sector organisations to create volunteering opportunities for young people. Details of the projects funded by v can be found on their website at
	www.wearev.com.
	Copies of the list of funded projects have also been placed in the Library for the reference of members.
	The Office of the Third Sector, through its strategic partners programme, is also providing funding in this financial year to the following organisations that provide or promote youth volunteering opportunities: British Youth Council, Citizenship Foundation, National Youth Agency, Youth Action Network and Youthnet UK.

Official Residences: Income Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2008,  Official Report, column 592W, on departmental official residences, what guidance has been issued on the income tax liability on the benefit in kind of providing a ministerial residence to a person who is not a Minister of the Crown.

Tom Watson: Income tax liability is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs.

Peers: Official Residences

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance has been issued by the Cabinet Office on the eligibility of Ministers who are peers and who reside in an official ministerial residence in London to claim  (a) Ministers' Night Subsistence Allowance and  (b) London Supplement.

Tom Watson: The allowances payable to Members of the House of Lords are set out in the "Members Reimbursement Allowance Scheme, General Guide, Sixth Edition (January 2007)". The determination of such allowances is a matter for the House of Lords.

V

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the charity v does not replicate the work of other charities when carrying out work at the expense of the public purse.

Phil Hope: The vast majority of central Government funding for young people's volunteering has been routed through v providing a more joined-up strategic approach to central Government funding for youth volunteering.
	v aims to inspire a new generation of volunteers by working in partnership with other third sector organisations, building on the best of their existing activity to create new volunteering opportunities.

V: Educational Institutions

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which charities work in partnership with v in schools and colleges on activities funded by the public purse.

Phil Hope: v will be working in partnership with local education establishments to engage 16 to 25-year-olds in volunteering through its network of vinvolved teams. v is directly funding some schools, colleges and universities to create and deliver vinvolved projects. The full list of recipients is available at
	www.wearev.com.
	Nationally, v is working strategically with other third sector partners to increase opportunities for volunteering within the education system.

V: Finance

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what funding from the public purse is being provided for the charity v in 2008-09; and how much was provided in 2007-08.

Phil Hope: In 2008-09, £39 million will be provided by the Office of the Third Sector. In addition, v is able to draw down on Government match funding on a pound for pound basis, when they secure funding from the private sector, as set out in Budget 2005.
	For the funding provided in 2007-08, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) on 20 February 2008,  Official Report, column 743W.

V: Standards

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what objectives have been set for v involved teams which are working at the expense of the public purse; and what protocols govern such teams' working methods.

Phil Hope: The three priorities for the vinvolved teams are:
	1. Creating new volunteering opportunities across all sectors;
	2. Brokering young people into opportunities;
	3. Championing youth-led action.
	v will be monitoring the progress of its funded organisations and supporting them to achieve their targets. In addition, v has asked all of the vinvolved teams and projects to take part in the REACH quality assurance framework, developed by the Youth Action Network.

OLYMPICS

Olympic Games 2012

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what representations the Department for Culture, Media and Sport received in connection with the Olympic Legacy Masterplan in each of the last three years.

Tessa Jowell: The Legacy Masterplan Framework, which will set out a spatial vision for the Olympic Park and its surrounding areas after the Games, is being produced by the London Development Agency (as interim legacy client), working with Government, the Olympic Delivery Authority, host boroughs, local communities and other agencies. The process for developing this vision was launched in February 2008, and is being accompanied by a detailed programme of community engagement activities, to ensure that all members of local communities and other interested parties have an opportunity to get involved in developing and commenting on options for the Olympic Park site in legacy.
	This community engagement will build on the work undertaken during the two rounds of consultation in 2006 and 2007 on the Olympic, Paralympic and Legacy Transformation planning applications, which related to proposals for the development of Olympic and Paralympic facilities and their post-Games transformation prior to the legacy phase. This earlier consultation process elicited 278 responses during Round 1, and 478 responses in Round 2, following the submission of further information from the applicant. These representations were submitted to and considered by the Olympic Delivery Authority Planning Authority as part of the planning process.

Olympic Games 2012

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what criteria have been set for projects and developments in the Olympic Park post 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: Our vision is for the Olympic Park to become the centre of a world class, sustainable and prosperous neighbourhood after the Games, with new homes, sporting and leisure facilities, high quality local services and greatly improved transport links, and 110 hectares of new parkland. We are committed to ensuring that the regeneration of the area meets the needs of local communities, is safe and sustainable and is closely tied in with the development plans for the wider Lower Lea Valley and Thames Gateway areas. This work is being developed through the Legacy Masterplan Framework process, led by the London Development Agency, working with Government, the ODA, host boroughs and local communities.

Olympic Games 2012: National Lottery

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Olympics 
	(1)  how much has been raised to date from all dedicated London 2012 Olympic Lottery games;
	(2)  how much was raised in 2007-08 from all dedicated London 2012 Olympic Lottery games;
	(3)  how much was raised in each quarter of 2007-08 from all dedicated London 2012 Olympic Lottery games.

Tessa Jowell: By 31 March 2008, £275 million had been raised for the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund from the dedicated Olympic Lottery games. The following table gives the figures for each financial year. The figures include proceeds from Olympic Lottery games, unclaimed prizes and other operator-related income, net of operational costs. They exclude investment earnings on the balance held in the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 16.315 
			 2006-07 112.516 
			 2007-08(1) 146.206 
			 (1) Provisional figure, subject to audit. 
		
	
	The quarterly breakdown in 2007-08 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  2007-08  £ million 
			 Q1 29.475 
			 Q2 37.062 
			 Q3 39.165 
			 Q4 40.504 
			  Notes: 1. All the figures in the table are subject to audit. Numbers are based on the quarter that DCMS brought figures to account, and each quarter's data may not include income for an equal number of weeks for lottery sales across all games. 2. Both tables include provisional proceeds figures for the final quarter of 2007-08 which have not yet been validated by the National Lottery Commission.

Olympic Games 2012: National Lottery

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Olympics 
	(1)  how much has been raised to date from the Dream Number Lottery game to support the London 2012 Olympic Games;
	(2)  how much was raised in 2007-08 from the Dream Number Lottery game to support the London 2012 Olympic Games;
	(3)  how much was raised in each quarter of 2007-08 from the Dream Number Lottery game to support the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Tessa Jowell: I am advised by the National Lottery Commission that the sale proceeds going to the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund (OLDF) are not available on a game by game basis. Returns to the good causes from the sale of all national lottery games are calculated in accordance with a formula set out in the national lottery operator's licence. In line with that formula, proceeds to the OLDF are based on the proportion of the total national lottery sales attributable to designated Olympic lottery games.

Olympic Games 2012: Schools

Harry Cohen: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether local schools have been consulted as part of the preparation of the Olympic Legacy Action Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: The Government Olympic Executive (GOE) is developing the Olympic Legacy Action Plan (LAP) in consultation with stakeholders including the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the five host boroughs.
	The DCSF is the Department leading on the education legacy of the games as part of the preparation of the Legacy Action Plan. Working closely with LOCOG who are leading on the development and delivery of the London 2012 Education Programme, the following organisations have been consulted between them on how best to use the 2012 games to drive change within schools, colleges and other education providers.
	DCSF's 2012 advisory group, (which includes organisations representing schools and head teachers);
	the implementation review unit (IRU) (a group of school practitioners with a remit to challenge and support the DCSF);
	Government regional offices;
	national agencies such as the Independent Schools Association, the Girls School Association, etc.;
	local authorities;
	head teachers, teachers, other members of staff and young people from over 100 schools and colleges across the UK;
	the Youth Sport Trust 2012 Headteacher Advisory Group;
	the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Advisory Group; and
	the Podium Opportunities groups for colleges and universities.
	LOCOG also delivered a series of workshops across the UK to encourage schools and young people to explore the opportunities provided by the London 2012 Education Programme. Representatives from Waltham Forest attended a number of these meetings.
	LOCOG also works closely with colleagues in each of the five host boroughs to develop their education offer. Young people from Waltham Forest ('Waltham Forest Young Ambassadors') have also attended a consultation workshop at LOCOG to discuss plans for the London 2012 Education Programme.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Drugs

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to tackle opium poppy cultivation in the provinces of Afghanistan where it is taking place; and what assessment he has made of the impact of drug-trafficking on the stability of the region.

Kim Howells: The UK is supporting the Afghan Government in implementing its National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS). This includes work at a national level, through the Ministry of Counter Narcotics, and provincially, through the Independent Directorate for local governance and through provincial governors. Our efforts are focused on those areas where opium poppy cultivation is concentrated, notably in Helmand province. In support of the NDCS, UK assistance aims to: raise public awareness; promote international and regional co-operation; promote alternative livelihoods; reduce demand for drugs; support law enforcement; establish an effective criminal justice system; support targeted eradication of opium cultivation; and build effective Afghan Government institutions.
	We remain concerned about the potential for Afghan drug-trafficking to undermine regional stability and are encouraging Afghanistan and its neighbours to take forward further regional counter narcotics coordination and cooperation. The UK will be participating as an observer in the Good Neighbourly Relations Declaration meeting scheduled to take place later this year, which is integral to this process.

Cuba: Sanctions

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the Government supports EU sanctions against Cuba; and what representations he has received on the Government's position on EU sanctions against Cuba in the last 12 months.

Kim Howells: The UK's policy on Cuba has been based on the EU Common Position since 1996. The Common Position is a policy framework which aims to encourage transition to pluralist democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Common Position is reviewed each year in June and member states take into account any changes over the past 12 months.
	Over the last year, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has received representations from the Cuban Government. As Cuba is of interest to many groups in society, my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary regularly receive letters, emails and petitions from many groups including; trade unions, members of the public and non-governmental organisations. Parliamentarians have asked questions on the subject throughout the year.

Food: Prices

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on rising food prices internationally, with particular reference to staples such as rice; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is acutely aware of the impact of rising food prices globally. He understands this is a critical issue for both the global economy and the UK economy. To date my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not directly received international representations on the issue. However, global economic issues, and their interface with foreign policy, remain a key theme in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) dialogue with partner governments and international institutions globally. Given the potential links between rising food prices and a number of foreign policy issues such as social stability, poverty reduction and conflict, the FCO will continue to monitor the situation closely. We are clear that an international solution is required and to that end my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has written to the chair of the G8 group of industrialised nations and the heads of relevant international organisations calling for co-ordinated action. The letter is available at: http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page15234.asp. FCO posts will keep discussing the situation regularly with key countries and international organisations.

Iran: Arms Trade

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received recent reports on British arms dealers trading with the government of Iran.

Kim Howells: The export of arms and other related material to Iran is subject to UN, EU and national sanctions. We rigorously apply these controls to all export licence applications destined for Iran.
	We are aware of recent media reports about British arms dealers attempting to trade with the Government of Iran. We take these reports very seriously. Where the Government receive information that an exporter has attempted to circumvent export control rules, the relevant Government Departments and agencies will take appropriate action. This was the case with the arms brokers John Knight and Mehrdad Salashoor. In both cases, the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) mounted successful prosecutions, which led to both individuals being given extended prison terms and large confiscation orders for breaches of export control rules.
	These media reports also highlighted a number of on-going investigations. The relevant authorities are looking into these cases and if they uncover evidence of attempts to breach export control rules, they will refer appropriate cases to RCPO to consider prosecutions. This work, and the recent successful prosecutions, demonstrates that our export controls are robust. We will continue to take action against those who attempt to circumvent UK controls.

Iran: Politics and Government

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Since I last made a statement to the House on the political situation in Iran on 26 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 220-21W, the parliamentary elections have taken place. As feared, a large proportion of reformist candidates were prevented from standing. Altogether, a third of all prospective candidates who registered to stand were disqualified by Iran's Interior Ministry and Guardian Council, denying the Iranian people a genuine democratic choice about their country's future.
	Following the elections, the EU expressed
	deep concern that election procedures in the Islamic Republic of Iran have fallen below international standards and that the electoral process did not allow for truly competitive elections.
	The new Parliament will start sitting on 27 May.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements exist for any UK-based law enforcement agency to investigate allegations of misconduct by  (a) British nationals and  (b) nationals of other countries, other than Iraqis, who are employees of private military or security companies contracted to work in Iraq by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: If any personnel employed by organisations contracted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) were suspected of committing a crime in Iraq but appeared to be immune from Iraqi legal process, the FCO would refer them to the disciplinary authority of their employing organisation with a view to having them removed from our contract in Iraq and would also bring the matter to the attention of the UK police and/or the authorities of the individual's nationality. The decision whether to pursue a criminal investigation and ultimately whether a prosecution should be undertaken in an individual case would be a matter for the police and prosecuting authorities, acting independently from the Government.
	In the case of suspected non-criminal misconduct, we would take up the matter with the employing organisation, and either investigate the matter or have the employing organisation do so and report back to us, depending on the circumstances and the nature of the allegations.

Pakistan: Asylum

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) HM Ambassador in Kabul and  (b) the High Commissioner in Islamabad on UK immigration applications from Pakistanis claiming status as refugees fleeing Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with our ambassador in Kabul or our high commissioner in Islamabad on UK immigration applications from Pakistan claiming status as refugees fleeing Afghanistan.
	We take issues of immigration from Pakistan, and the refugee situation within Pakistan, seriously. Senior officials recently visited Pakistan to discuss the UK's engagement with Pakistan on migration and we continue to support the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Tripartite process to tackle the long-term problem of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Pakistan: Asylum

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with the government of Pakistan on the repatriation of Afghan refugees in that country.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with the Government of Pakistan on the repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. However we take the issue of the approximately 2 million Afghan refugees, many of whom have been in Pakistan for over 20 years, seriously. Last year the Department for International Development supported the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) repatriation programme with 500,000. We continue to work with the UNHCR Tripartite process to find a sustainable solution to this long-standing problem.

Pakistan: Blasphemy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made in the case of Qamar David on trial in Karachi, Pakistan.

Kim Howells: We have not made specific representations in the case of Qamar David. But we strongly support freedom of religion, and condemn instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith or belief, wherever this occurs and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned. Both bilaterally and together with our EU partners, we have raised our concerns over the situation of religious minorities in Pakistan, and the excessive punishments prescribed in cases of blasphemy, and the frequent abuse of the blasphemy legislation. The UN Human Rights Council is undertaking a universal periodic review on the human rights records of a number of countries including Pakistan in May. The UK is participating in this dialogue and will raise the treatment of minorities during the process.
	We will continue to raise the concerns of minorities with the new government and encourage reform or repeal of discriminatory legislation through the newly formed National Assembly.

Pakistan: Human Rights

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan on the situation of the human rights lawyer Parvez Aslam Choudhry in Lahore.

Kim Howells: We have not made specific representations on behalf of Mr. Parvez Choudhry but officials in our high commission in Islamabad and in London are aware of him through contact with Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Legal Aid for Destitute and Settlement about his situation.
	The UK supports freedom of religion and condemns instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith or belief. Through our regular contact with organisations working on behalf of religious minorities we continue to monitor and raise concerns about the treatment of minorities with the Government and encourage reform or repeal of discriminatory legislation through the National Assembly.
	The UN Human Rights Council is undertaking a universal periodic review on the human rights records of a number of countries including Pakistan in May. The UK is participating in this dialogue and will raise the treatment of minorities during the process.

Pakistan: Nuclear Power

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan on A. Q. Khan.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the subject of A.Q. Khan with the new Pakistani Government during his recent visit on 20-21 April.

Piracy

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Ministry of Defence on tackling piracy on the high seas, with particular reference to the potential for asylum being claimed by arrested pirates; what guidance his Department has issued as a result of those discussions; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) contribute to wider Government work on piracy issues and incidents that specifically affect UK citizens or assets. The FCO does not lead within Government on asylum issues and as such the Department has issued no guidance to the MoD on this matter.

Simon Mann

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take in the week beginning 5 May to monitor the  (a) treatment and  (b) risk of torture of Mr. Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea; and whether he has received reports on whether Mr. Mann is still being continuously shackled.

Kim Howells: holding answer 28 April 2008
	Our consul from the British deputy high commission in Lagos was refused consular access to Simon Mann during his last visit to Equatorial Guinea in March. We have expressed our concern to the Equatorial Guinea authorities and are urgently seeking another consular visit. His welfare remains our primary concern.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to support the execution of the warrants from the International Criminal Court in relation to Darfur in respect of Ali Koshyb and Ahmed Harun.

Kim Howells: holding answer 28 April 2008
	The UK sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005) referred the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The UK fully supports the ICC and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Sudan's compliance with the ICC with the ICC President Kirsch on 8 November 2007.
	We remain gravely concerned that the two individuals, for whom the court has issued arrest warrants, remain at large. The UK continues to press the Government of Sudan, at all levels, to comply with ICC requirements. We have raised Sudanese compliance with the ICC with partners who have influence over the Government of Sudan and will continue to reinforce these concerns.

Taliban

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to his recent comments in Pakistan, whether his officials are currently conducting talks with members of the Taliban or their associates in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Kim Howells: The Government support the approach of the Governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan in tackling Taliban and insurgent influence through a comprehensive method of addressing security, governance and development needs. We fully support President Karzai's efforts to bring disaffected Afghans into society's mainstream, providing they renounce violence and accept Afghanistan's constitution. As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear in his recent visit to Pakistan, we support the Government of Pakistan's plans to reconcile with people who are willing to participate in normal politics in a non-violent way. Such reconciliation should be designed to marginalise those who are using extremist means for ideological reasons.

USA: Lebanon

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the United States government on the deployment of US Navy warships along the coast of Lebanon.

Kim Howells: Our officials discuss UK and US policy in Lebanon with their American counterparts on a regular basis, including the deployment of US naval vessels off the coast of Lebanon.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Departmental Responsibilities

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what work has been conducted by the Government Equalities Office on the Single Equalities Bill, excluding work conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Women's National Commission, and the former Equalities Commissions.

Barbara Follett: Officials have been developing policy in light of the consultation on the Equality Bill's proposals and the Government plans to issue a formal response to the consultation in due course.

Equal Opportunities: EU Law

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what the timetable is for the implementation of the EU Gender Directive; and if she will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: The EU Gender Directive was implemented on 6 April 2008 by the Sex Discrimination (Amendment of Legislation) Regulations 2008. These regulations amended both the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976.

Equal Opportunities: EU Law

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government have taken to implement the EU Gender Directive.

Barbara Follett: The EU Gender Directive was implemented on 6 April 2008 by the Sex Discrimination (Amendment of Legislation) Regulations 2008. These regulations amended both the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Bird and Bird

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contracts were awarded by his Department to Bird and Bird Solicitors in each year since 2005; and what the  (a) value and  (b) duration of each such contract was.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions has not awarded contracts to Bird and Bird solicitors since 2005.

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) pre-school age and  (b) school-aged children in lower-income working families in England using formal child care in each year since 2004 as measured against the 2003-04 and 2004-05 averaged baseline; and what progress has been made towards meeting his Department's public service agreement target.

Stephen Timms: The data requested are not available.
	Information relating to what progress has been made towards meeting this public service agreement target is available in the departmental Autumn Performance Report 2007. This is available in the Library and can also be viewed at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2007/autumnreport/full-report07.pdf
	Figures showing progress towards public service agreement 3b will be available when the results of the 2007 Childcare Survey are published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families later this year.

Departmental Publications

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date his Department published the Households Below Average Income annual statistics in each of the last six years; and on what date he plans to publish the statistics for 2006-07.  [Official Report, 15 May 2008, Vol. 475, c. 10MC.]

Stephen Timms: holding answer 21 April 2008
	 The publication dates of the last six sets of households below average income statistics are given in the following table.
	This year's statistics will be published in June. Publication has been delayed by additional validation and quality assurance checks of the data set. The date of publication has been announced on the National Statistics website, in line with the National Statistics Code of Practice.
	
		
			  Households below average income publication  Publication date 
			 1994-95 to 2000-01 11 April 2002 
			 1994-95 to 2001-02 13 March 2003 
			 1994-95 to 2002-03 30 March 2004 
			 1994-95 to 2003-04 30 March 2005 
			 1994-95 to 2004-05 9 March 2006 
			 1994-95 to 2005-06 27 March 2007 
			 1994-95 to 2005-06 (revised edition) 22 May 2007

Employment

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the employment rate of  (a) lone parents,  (b) ethnic minorities,  (c) people aged over 50,  (d) the 15 per cent. of the population with the lowest qualifications and  (e) those living in wards with a benefit claim rate of 25 per cent. or above and wards in the 10 local authority districts with the lowest employment rates which have benefit claim rates between 20 and 25 per cent. was in each year since 2004 as measured against the baseline figures used to assess progress towards public service agreement target 4; and what progress has been made towards meeting this target.

Stephen Timms: Available information on the employment rate of lone parents, ethnic minorities, older workers, people with the lowest qualifications and people living in deprived areas in each year since 2004 as measured against the baseline figures used to assess progress towards public service agreement target 4 is shown in the following table.
	The baseline for the targets set in the Comprehensive Spending Review 2004 was Quarter 2 2005. The Quarter 2 2004 data were measured against a different baseline.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Quarter 2 2004  Quarter 2 2005  Quarter 2 2006  Quarter 2 2007 
			 Lone Parents 54.4 56.2 56.4 57.2 
			 Ethnic Minorities 59.2 58.6 60.5 60.1 
			 Older Workers (aged 50-69) 54.2 54.6 55.4 55.5 
			 Lowest Qualified n/a 49.8 49.0 49.1 
			 Deprived Areas n/a 59.8 60.1 61.1 
			  Notes: 1. The data are not seasonally adjusted so Q2 quarters are compared (as this is the baseline). 2. Quarter 2 2007 are the latest data available. 3. The data refer to Great Britain. 4. The PSA target covers people aged 50-69.. 
		
	
	Information relating to what progress has been made towards meeting this target is available in the departmental Autumn Performance Report 2007. This is available in the Library and can also be viewed at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2007/autumnreport/full-report07.pdf

Incapacity Benefits: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of  (a) the Welfare Reform Act 2007 and  (b) new guidance on the disability living allowance on the granting of benefits to people with myalgic encephalopathy.

Stephen Timms: The Welfare Reform Act 2007 contains provision for the creation of the new employment and support allowance. This will be supported by the new work capability assessment.
	The work capability assessment will be a fair, robust and accurate assessment of limited capability for work which takes account of all conditions, including those that are long term and that fluctuate such as myalgic encephalopathy.
	Employment and support allowance will replace incapacity benefits for new claimants from October 2008. No assessment of its impact can be made yet.
	Updated medical guidance on myalgic encephalopathy for disability living allowance decision makers was published in July 2007. No assessment has been made of the impact of the guidance on entitlement to disability living allowance for people with myalgic encephalopathy.

Legal Profession

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value of the contracts awarded by his Department to  (a) Christine Lee and Co. solicitors,  (b) Ward Hadaway solicitors,  (c) Dean and Dean solicitors and  (d) Lawford Kidd solicitors were in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Information prior to 2005-06 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department for Work and Pensions has not awarded contracts to Christine Lee and Co. solicitors, Dean and Dean solicitors and Lawford Kidd solicitors in the last three years (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08).
	Contracted expenditure with Ward Hadaway solicitors in each of the last three years was 28,520 in 2005-06, 5,979 in 2006-07 and 1,293 in 2007-08.

State Retirement Pensions

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the incremental cost would be of allowing all those entitled to national insurance pensions to receive the annual increase in those pensions irrespective of place of residence.

Mike O'Brien: The UK state pension is uprated for UK pensioners living overseas where there is a reciprocal social security agreement or a legal requirement to do so.
	The current estimate to bring all frozen rate UK state pensions up to the current rate is around 440 million and this would be an ongoing cost increasing year on year.
	 Source:
	March 2007 retirement pension and widows benefit administrative data, 5 per cent. sample

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what  (a) surveys,  (b) questionnaires and  (c) other services were provided by polling companies for his Department in financial year 2007-08, broken down by company.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of machinery of government changes on 28 June, 2007.
	From that date to the end of the financial year, the following services have been provided by polling companies for the Department. The research has informed the Department's information campaign to ensure potential students are aware of the financial support that is available.
	
		
			  Company name:  Type of research: 
			 Continental Research Two quantitative survey based projects 
			 Define Research and Insight Ltd. Three qualitative, focus group based research projects 
			 Jigsaw Two quantitative survey based projects. One to measure student and parent satisfaction with the student finance service and further work to inform the information campaign. 
			 Seventy 2 Point One qualitative survey based research project. 
		
	
	In addition to this SHM Ltd. organized five small Student Jury events (14-15 students per event) with current students to inform the work of the National Student Forum.

Departmental Written Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills with reference to the letter of 14 April 2008 to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South from his Department's Parliamentary Section, regarding the question tabled by the hon. Member on 1 April 2008 (198340), for what reason the question tabled by the hon. Member on 28 January 2008 (183633) on midwifery students, was not transferred to the Department of Health.

David Lammy: The parliamentary team confirmed that they issued a notification of transfer to the hon. Member for PQ 183633 as with PQ 198340. Both of these PQs were transferred to the Department for Health and a response was sent to the hon. Member on 24 April,  Official Report, columns 2084-86W.

Energy and Utility Skills Sector Skills Council

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Energy and Utility Sector Skills Council is taking to ensure that the UK has an adequate supply of people with the skills needed for the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors.

David Lammy: Energy and Utility Skills (EU Skills) is one of several Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) which have a particular interest in the supply of skills needed for energy efficiency and renewable energy. EU Skills is taking a number of steps which will help ensure that the skills needed in these areas are met.
	In common with all SSCs, EU Skills has developed a Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) which identifies the sector's current and future skills needs. The SSA, which is UK wide, provides a clear platform for education and skills agencies and providers to work with the sector on helping meet those needs. Following on from the SSA, EU Skills, working with leading employers, are considering the case for a possible national skills academy for environmental industries, with initial discussions focussing on waste management and water. EU Skills has also brokered the setting up of an employer-led Power Sector Skills Strategy Group, chaired by a senior manager from EOF Energy. Through these initiatives, EU Skills is engaging and consulting with its sector on developing arrangements that will lead to the renewable energy agenda being addressed throughout these industries.
	On energy usage, EU Skills is taking steps such as working with the Health and Safety Executive to ensure that the re-licensing of the gas registrar (currently CORGI) takes account of all the skills needs of gas installers. It is anticipated that the new registrar will be announced in the next few months.

Further Education: Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether he plans to make intervention funding available to the Learning and Skills Council to support  (a) further education colleges and  (b) proposed mergers of further education colleges between 2008-09 and 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: As the statutory planning and funding body for further education, it is for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to consider how it uses the funds it receives in line with stated priorities. The Department does not propose to make an additional budget available specifically for intervention at this point. Where it has been identified that a college may be underperforming, LSC will normally issue a notice to improve and support is provided to address the areas of weakness. This may be an improvement advisor appointed by the new FE improvement body or another support package drawn from other improvement services, depending on the circumstances. Strategic options, which may include formal collaboration with another institution, may also be explored. Intervention powers will apply only in the most serious cases of underperformance where a college has not made the required progress against the notice to improve, and the LSC and the governing body cannot agree a way forward.
	While there is no specific fund to support merger proposals, the LSC may decide to support the development of proposals in a number of ways e.g. support for feasibility studies.

Ipsos MORI

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2008, Offi cial Report, columns 998-9W, on Ipsos MORI, what proportion of his Department's consultancy expenditure to date has involved payments to Ipsos MORI.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. The Department is in the process of producing the 2007-08 Resource Accounts. The accounts report both the 2007-08 outturn and 2006-07 comparatives. Until the accounts are completed we are unable to provide the proportion that Ipsos MORI expenditure accounted for as the total of consultancy expenditure for the Department, to do so would be at disproportionate cost.

Land Use

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether the Foresight Land Use Futures project will review  (a) Green Belt protection,  (b) other land use designations and  (c) rural re-rating.

Ian Pearson: The Foresight Land Use Futures project will take a long-term (25 to 50 years), system-wide view, to explore how our use of land may need to evolve to meet future challenges and how it can deliver economic, social and environmental benefits sustainably.
	By combining the most up to date scientific evidence with well-informed exploratory futures work it will assist policymakers in developing robust and resilient strategies, policies and priorities.
	The project was announced by Professor John Beddington earlier this month and its detailed scope will be confirmed in June. It is a futures project and, as such, will not scrutinise specific existing policies or immediate policy questions. It will focus on developing an understanding of land use systems, the factors that may drive future changes and the opportunities and risks associated with those futures.
	Further information as and when it becomes available will be posted at
	http://www.foresight.gov.uk/LandUse/LandUse.html

Land Use

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what  (a) processes and  (b) criteria will be used to select the (i) high level stakeholder group and (ii) expert advisory group for the Foresight Land Use Futures project.

Ian Pearson: The information requested is as follows:
	 (i) Foresight Land Use Futures high level stakeholder group
	The Foresight Land Use Futures project covers a wide range of issues. The process for selecting members for the high level stakeholder group has included consideration of the issues and range of interests potentially involved, consultation with the sponsoring Departments, DEFRA and CLG, consultation with expert and professional communities and UK Research Councils. The criteria were designed to ensure a balance of interests such as rural and urban, environmental and commercial, public and private sector. Details of membership will be posted on the website in due course.
	There are a large number of other organisations who will contribute to and be communicated with on a regular basis as a wider stakeholder community for the project
	 (ii) Foresight Land Use Futures lead expert group
	Foresight projects draw upon a large network of leading experts in the UK and internationally, from a wide range of scientific and other disciplines, in order to ensure that the work is of the highest technical and scientific standard. A small lead expert group, will work closely with the Foresight team throughout the life of the project to steer the technical work and contribute to the analysis. Members of the lead expert group demonstrate high academic standing in the relevant discipline areas and have capacity to commit up to four days per month to the project. Experience of bringing academic evidence to bear on public policy is also desirable.
	The lead expert group for this project has not yet been constituted. The Government's Chief Scientific Adviser will invite individuals to join this group once the formal project scope has been confirmed by the high level stakeholder group and the key disciplines agreed. Again, the membership of the group will be posted on the website.

Learning and Skills Council for England: Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much intervention funding he plans to make available to each regional and sub-regional learning and skills council to support further education college mergers and other exceptional circumstances in each of the years of the current comprehensive spending review period.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to his question 202977. As stated in that answer, the Department does not propose to make an additional budget available specifically for intervention at this point and there is no specific fund to support merger proposals.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many academies use selection by  (a) aptitude,  (b) local banding and  (c) area banding in admissions; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Academies must abide by the schools admissions code as it applies to maintained schools, which includes statutory requirements on selection by aptitude and selection using banding.
	Over-subscription criteria are included in each academy's funding agreement. Of the 83 open academies, if over-subscribed, 17 academy funding agreements allow for selection of 10 per cent. of pupils by aptitude in a relevant specialism; 26 allow for banding by reference to the ability range of applicants and three allow for banding with reference to the national ability range. There are no funding agreements that allow for banding with reference to the ability range of pupils in the local area.

Children: Day Care

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children aged  (a) three and  (b) four years old were in daycare settings for more than 12.5 hours a week in (i) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (ii) Bexley borough in each of the last 10 years.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number and proportion of children aged three and four years old attending private, voluntary and independent settings for more than 12.5 hours a week was not collected prior to 2004. From 2004, data are available for four-year-old children only.
	The available information about the number of three and four-year-olds in free early education, in private, voluntary and independent providers, by number of sessions and local authority area were published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 19/2007 Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2007, available on my Department's website at: www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000729/index .shtml The number of four-year-olds accessing five or more sessions can be found in table 6. Information for 2004-06 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Children: Day Care

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local authorities have not completed a sufficiency assessment of childcare provision; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: I am advised that all local authorities have completed sufficiency assessments of childcare provision in their areas and have published them, as the Childcare Act 2006 requires, on their websites. I understand, however, that three local authorities have not yet published their assessments in final form because they are still awaiting formal clearance from the appropriate council body.

Children: Employment

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when the Government plans to publish new guidance on child employment.

Beverley Hughes: We plan to publish new guidance on child employment later this year.

Children's Centres

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children aged  (a) under one,  (b) one year old,  (c) two years old,  (d) three years old,  (e) four years old,  (f) five years old and  (g) more than five years old attended children's centres in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many children attended each children's centre in each year for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of children attending children's centres were in the care of a local authority in each year for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many and what proportion of children attending children's centres were from socio-economic groups four to seven in each year for which figures are available;
	(5)  how many and what proportion of children attending children's centres were from black, minority or ethnic backgrounds in each year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: Sure Start Children's Centres offer a wide range of services to children and families, including childcare, health and family support services. The Department does not collect data on all children attending children's centres. However the Childcare and Early Years Providers survey does provide some data on children attending full day care provision in children's centres.
	The 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers survey estimated that there were 40,050 children attending full day care provision in Sure Start Children's Centres in England. At 31 March 2006 there were 836 designated children's centres.
	The proportion of children attending, by age is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Table 1: Percentage of children attending full day care provision in Sure Start Children's Centres, by age2006 
			   Percentage 
			 Under 2 years old 21 
			 2 years old 29 
			 3 years old 28 
			 4 years old 16 
			 5-7 years old 2 
			 8 years old and over 2 
			  Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 per cent due to rounding. 
		
	
	The 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey estimated that there were approximately 10,250 children from a black and minority ethnic group attending full day care provision in children's centres, an average of 24 per cent. of children per setting.
	The Childcare and Early Years Providers survey does not collect information about children in care or children's socio-economic groups.
	Data for previous years are not available; children's centres were included in the survey for the first time in 2006.
	Local authorities are responsible for the performance management of children's centres. To support them in this, and to encourage a systematic approach, we issued Planning and Performance Management Guidance in November 2006 including a framework of performance indicators reflecting the every child matters (ECM) outcomes, national public service agreement targets, and key activities for centres for example reaching excluded groups in their area; and a self evaluation form for centres to complete and discuss with their local authority. In line with the proposals in Strong and Prosperous Communities, the local government White Paper published in October 2006, we are moving to a more streamlined and proportionate performance management regime with a new national indicator set which includes indicators relating to Sure Start Children's Centres.

Children's Centres: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of children's centres in Bexley borough; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: During the period 2003-08, Bexley local authority developed 12 Sure Start children's centres, offering a wide range of services to children and families including child care, health and family support services. Further centres will be developed over the next two years (2008-10), which will ensure that there are sufficient centres to meet the needs of all pre-school children in their area.

Departmental NDPBs

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which his Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The Cabinet Office publication Public bodies 2007 lists the number of people serving on the boards of public bodies as at 31 March 2007, the latest date for which figures are available. These figures are broken down by individual Departments. Public bodies 2007 can be downloaded from www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp Copies are also available in the Library of the House. The Department was created in June 2007; the figures in Public Bodies 2007 relate to the former Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The names of the NDPBs for which my Department is now responsible are listed on my Department's website at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/ndpb/ The DfES's Public Bodies 2007 is also on this website page.

Nurseries: Standards

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of  (a) maintained and  (b) independent nurseries were rated by Ofsted as (i) outstanding, (ii) good, (iii) satisfactory and (iv) poor in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.

Nursery Schools

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many nursery schools  (a) opened and (b) closed in each of the last 10 years.

Beverley Hughes: The number of maintained nursery schools notified to the Department as opening and closing in each of the last 10 years are provided in the following tables.
	
		
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  Grand total 
			  Open ed 
			 Total 2 1 2 3 2 1 0 3 1 0 0 15 
			  Closed 
			 Total 12 8 15 17 15 11 10 12 5 3 1 109 
			  Source: EduBase 
		
	
	Schools can be opened and closed for a number of reasons including: to meet demographic changes (population decline); as part of an amalgamation; to allow a Fresh Start school to replace a school in special measures; to allow a school with a religious character to replace a school without a religious character; or as part of another type of local reorganisation.
	The number of child care places available in England since 1997 is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Table 1: Number( 1,2)  of day care places for children under eight years of age by type England 1997 to 2002, position at 31 March each year 
			  Type of provider  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002 
			 Day nurseries 193,800 223,000 247,700 264,200 285,100 n/a 
			 Playgroups and pre-schools 383,700 383,600 347,200 353,100 330,200 n/a 
			 Childminders 365,200 370,700 336,600 320,400 304,600 n/a 
			 Out of school clubs 78,700 92,300 113,800 141,100 152,800 n/a 
			 Holiday schemes(3) 209,000 256,500 435,200 490,400 550,400  
			 n/a = not available (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100. (2) Data Source: Children's Day Care Facilities Survey. (3) From 1999, places were counted once for each school holiday. Before 1999, places were counted once each year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number( 1)  of registered child care places for children under eight years of age by type of care, England 2003-07, position at 31 March each year 
			  Type of care  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Full day care 381,600 456,300 518,000 565,700 598,700 
			 Sessional day care 280,800 274,100 249,600 237,100 221,600 
			 Childminders 300,900 319,700 316,100 322,200 317,700 
			 Out of school day care 285,400 326,700 341,200 366,500 365,400 
			 Crche day care 32,700 38,900 43,400 46,300 47,700 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100. Source: Ofsted 
		
	
	Local authorities were responsible for the registration and inspection of children's day care facilities until these responsibilities were transferred to Ofsted in September 2001. With the introduction of the National Day Care Standards and the transfer of responsibilities for registration and inspection of child care providers from local authority social service departments to Ofsted in September 2001, child care places were classified according to the type of provider.

Olympic Games 2012: Education

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions he has had with the Minister for the Olympics on the educational legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Jim Knight: I have had one meeting with the Minister for the Olympics to discuss the education legacy of the 2012 games.
	Officials from my Department are currently in discussion with the Government Olympic Executive and the London Organising Committee of the Games on the development of a detailed Education Delivery Plan to support the successful delivery of PSA 22 and the Legacy Action Plan indicators for which the Minister for the Olympics is responsible.

TREASURY

Council Tax: Valuation

Mark Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements exist for the Valuation Office Agency to make the council tax list for England and Wales available to third parties for value-added use; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Council tax valuation lists for England and Wales are available to search on the Valuation Office Agency's website at no cost. Full copies of lists are not otherwise available without a statutory gateway.

Council Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many dwellings in each local authority area in Wales have moved up one or more bands as a result of council tax band amendments subsequent to the 2005 council tax revaluation.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Council Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plot size attribute information the Valuation Office Agency's TENET mapping software provides for council tax valuations and revaluations.

Jane Kennedy: TENET mapping software can calculate plot size for domestic properties where that is relevant to the market value of a dwelling.

Departmental Consultants

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultancy contracts his Department issued in each year since 2005; what the  (a) value,  (b) purpose and  (c) contractor was in each case; and whether the consultant's report is publicly available in each case.

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contracts were awarded by his Department to  (a) KPMG,  (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers,  (c) Ernst and Young,  (d) McKinsey,  (e) Deloitte and  (f) other consultancy firms in each of the last 12 months; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury awarded the following consultancy contracts in 2007:
	
		
			 Purpose Supplier Estimated contract value () 
			 Managerial Training Management Tests and Surveys Ltd. 13,000 
			
			 General Consultancy James Hines (University of Michigan) 5,000 
			
			 Business Analysis and Space Planning consultancy EC Harris 11,000 
			
			 Cost Benefit Analysis of Generic Financial Advice PACEC 24,000 
			
			 Project Support (3 contracts) Jackie Wells (2 contracts) 94,000 
			  Nick Lord  
			
			 Mutuals Legislation Nigel Fawcett 24,000 
			
			 Supplier Management Future Purchasing 88,000 
			
			 Financial Exclusion Workshops IPSOS Mori 31,000 
			
			 IS Consultancy Framework Deloitte MCS Ltd. 1 million to 3 million 
			  Hitachi  
			  PA Consulting Services Ltd.  
			  Qedis  
			
			 Analysis of Generic Financial Advice Deloitte 150,000 
			
			 Investigation into the loss of confidential data Pricewaterhouse Coopers (1) 
			
			 Support and Advice on Northern Rock Slaughter  May (2) 
			  Goldman Sachs (2) 
			  CRA International (2) 
			  Deloittes (2) 
			 (1) Commercially confidential project not yet completed.  (2) Commercially confidential. 
		
	
	Details of consultancy contracts awarded in 2005 and 2006 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Treasury's spending on consultancy since 2001-02 is set out in Table 7.4 on page 91 of the 2006-07 Annual Report and Accounts, available from:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/departmental_reports/annual_report07.cfm

Departmental ICT

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2579W, on departmental ICT, how many of the missing or stolen  (a) laptops,  (b) mobile telephones and  (c) personal digital assistants have been replaced by his Department; and at what cost.

Angela Eagle: It would be normal practice to replace these items, but there is no record kept which would distinguish an order for a replacement item from a new requirement. The estimated cost of replacement for all these items was given in the answer of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2580W on departmental property.

Departmental ICT

James Brokenshire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to ensure that counterfeit routers and other counterfeit hardware are not utilised in his Department's computer networks.

Angela Eagle: Equipment installed on HM Treasury IT networks is subject to operational and security testing before it is introduced into live service. In addition HM Treasury procures computer hardware from reputable companies under framework agreements established and managed by OGC Buying Solutions (part of the Office of Government Commerce,).

Enterprise Investment Scheme

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the  (a) Enterprise Investment Scheme and  (b) Enterprise Management Incentive to (i) meet the needs of entrepreneurial investment and (ii) retain the engagement of business angels and venture capital funds.

Jane Kennedy: Government keep all schemes that give tax relief under review. Evaluations of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme have recently been published on the HMRC website.
	Budget 2008 announced:
	a consultation on how EIS could be made simpler and more accessible;
	an increase in the annual investor limit of EIS from 400,000 to 500,000 to further stimulate investment in smaller, higher-risk companies; and
	an increase in the individual option grant limit of EMI from 100,000 to 120,000 to help smaller higher-risk companies recruit and retain key employees.

Gift Aid

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on charities of the change in the Gift Aid rate which entered into force on 6 April 2008.

Jane Kennedy: The precise impact on charities will depend on the behavioural reactions of donors and charities to the recent changes. Gross Gift Aid donations to charities are currently expected to increase year on year and were expected to do so even without the Budget 2008 announcements.
	The Budget 2008 announcement of a transitional relief enabling Gift Aid to be paid at a transitional rate for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 donations, will offset the effect on Gift Aid of the fall in the basic rate of income tax over the next three years. The estimated financial impact of this is published in table A.1 of the HMT 2008 Financial Statement and Budget Report at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/2/5/bud08_chaptera.pdf
	Budget 2008 also announced a package of measures aimed at driving up Gift Aid including major reform to the auditing process; a programme for bringing more smaller charities into Gift Aid; redesign of guidance and outreach to 5,000 new charities through the launch of targeted marketing tools.

Government Departments: Land

John Maples: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what requirements there are on Government departments to include a development uplift clause when they sell land which might be developed to provide for part of any gain in value from a grant of planning permission to be paid to the Government; whether moneys paid under such provisions are retained by the selling department; and whether there is a standard percentage of uplift in value which is included.

Angela Eagle: OGC supports departments engaged in the disposal of surplus land and property by providing detailed guidance, which helps departments to identify when and how to include uplift provisions in contracts for sale.
	Treasury and OGC require departments to identify future disposals and plan to use the receipts, however, Treasury approval would be required if prior to disposal a department had not obtained Estimates cover for spending receipts.
	Neither HM Treasury nor OGC recommend a standard percentage uplift figure.

Income

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of household income came from  (a) tax credits,  (b) means-tested benefits,  (c) other benefits,  (d) earned income excluding tax credits and  (e) other sources in each year since 2003-04, broken down by (i) income quintile and (ii) income decile.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 26 March 2008
	 I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is given in the following tables. In all categories the percentage of household income made up of benefits is decreasing year on year as more people move into work and families can benefit from wages not benefits.
	
		
			  Table 1a: Proportion of household income from various sources by quintile, before housing costs, United Kingdom, 2003-04 to 2005-06 
			  Percentage of income 
			  Quintile  Component  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Bottom Tax credits 6 8 10 
			  Means tested benefits 24 22 19 
			  Other benefits 26 26 24 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 34 35 39 
			  Other sources 9 9 8 
			  
			 Second Tax credits 6 7 7 
			  Means tested benefits 9 9 9 
			  Other benefits 21 20 20 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 55 55 55 
			  Other sources 10 10 9 
			  
			 Middle Tax credits 3 3 3 
			  Means tested benefits 3 3 3 
			  Other benefits 11 12 12 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 73 74 72 
			  Other sources 10 9 10 
			  
			 Fourth Tax credits 1 1 1 
			  Means tested benefits 1 1 1 
			  Other benefits 6 6 6 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 83 82 83 
			  Other sources 9 10 10 
			  
			 Top Tax credits 0 0 0 
			  Means tested benefits 0 0 0 
			  Other benefits 2 2 2 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 86 86 85 
			  Other sources 12 12 13 
			  Source:  Family Resources Survey 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 1 b: Proportion of household income from various sources by quintile, after housing costs, United Kingdom, 2003-04 to 2005-06 
			  Percentage of income 
			  Quintile  Component  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Bottom Tax credits 6 8 10 
			  Means tested benefits 28 24 21 
			  Other benefits 20 19 17 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 38 40 44 
			  Other sources 9 8 7 
			  
			 Second Tax credits 6 6 7 
			  Means tested benefits 7 7 7 
			  Other benefits 20 19 19 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 59 59 59 
			  Other sources 8 9 8 
			  
			 Middle Tax credits 3 2 3 
			  Means tested benefits 2 2 2 
			  Other benefits 12 12 12 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 74 75 74 
			  Other sources 9 9 9 
			  
			 Fourth Tax credits 1 1 1 
			  Means tested benefits 1 1 1 
			  Other benefits 7 7 7 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 83 82 82 
			  Other sources 9 10 9 
			  
			  
			 Top Tax credits 0 0 0 
			  Means tested benefits 0 0 0 
			  Other benefits 2 2 2 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 85 84 83 
			  Other sources 13 13 14 
			  Source:  Family Resources Survey 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 1c: Proportion of household income from various sources by decile, before housing costs, United Kingdom, 2003-04 to 2005-06 
			  Percentage of income 
			  Decile  Component  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Bottom Tax credits 6 8 9 
			  Means tested benefits 20 20 16 
			  Other benefits 27 26 24 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 36 36 41 
			  Other sources 11 10 9 
			  
			 Second Tax credits 7 9 11 
			  Means tested benefits 26 23 21 
			  Other benefits 26 25 24 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 33 34 37 
			  Other sources 8 9 8 
			  
			 Third Tax credits 6 8 8 
			  Means tested benefits 12 12 11 
			  Other benefits 24 23 23 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 48 48 49 
			  Other sources 10 9 9 
			  
			 Fourth Tax credits 5 6 6 
			  Means tested benefits 6 6 6 
			  Other benefits 18 18 18 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 60 60 61 
			  Other sources 11 10 10 
			  
			 Fifth Tax credits 3 3 4 
			  Means tested benefits 4 4 4 
			  Other benefits 13 13 14 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 70 70 68 
			  Other sources 10 10 10 
			  
			 Sixth Tax credits 2 2 2 
			  Means tested benefits 2 2 2 
			  Other benefits 10 10 11 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 76 77 75 
			  Other sources 10 9 9 
			  
			 Seventh Tax credits 1 1 1 
			  Means tested benefits 1 1 1 
			  Other benefits 7 7 7 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 81 80 81 
			  Other sources 9 10 9 
			  
			 Eighth Tax credits 1 1 1 
			  Means tested benefits 0 0 0 
			  Other benefits 5 5 5 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 85 84 84 
			  Other sources 9 10 10 
			  
			 Ninth Tax credits 0 0 0 
			  Means tested benefits 0 0 0 
			  Other benefits 3 3 3 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 88 87 87 
			  Other sources 8 9 9 
			  
			 Top Tax credits 0 0 0 
			  Means tested benefits 0 0 0 
			  Other benefits 1 1 1 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 85 85 84 
			  Other sources 14 14 15 
			  Source:  Family Resources Survey 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 1d: Proportion of household income from various sources by decile, after housing costs, United Kingdom, 2003-04 to 2005-06 
			  Percentage of income 
			  Decile  Component  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Bottom Tax credits 5 7 8 
			  Means tested benefits 25 24 19 
			  Other benefits 18 17 15 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 41 42 48 
			  Other sources 11 10 9 
			  
			 Second Tax credits 6 9 11 
			  Means tested benefits 29 25 23 
			  Other benefits 22 21 19 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 35 39 41 
			  Other sources 7 7 6 
			  
			 Third Tax credits 7 8 8 
			  Means tested benefits 10 10 11 
			  Other benefits 23 22 22 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 52 53 53 
			  Other sources 8 8 7 
			  
			 Fourth Tax credits 5 6 6 
			  Means tested benefits 4 4 5 
			  Other benefits 18 18 18 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 65 63 64 
			  Other sources 8 9 8 
			  
			 Fifth Tax credits 3 3 3 
			  Means tested benefits 2 2 3 
			  Other benefits 14 13 14 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 72 73 71 
			  Other sources 9 8 9 
			  
			 Sixth Tax credits 2 2 2 
			  Means tested benefits 1 2 1 
			  Other benefits 10 11 11 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 77 77 77 
			  Other sources 9 9 9 
			  
			 Seventh Tax credits 1 1 1 
			  Means tested benefits 1 1 1 
			  Other benefits 8 8 8 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 81 81 81 
			  Other sources 9 9 9 
			  
			 Eighth Tax credits 1 1 1 
			  Means tested benefits 0 0 0 
			  Other benefits 6 6 6 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 84 84 84 
			  Other sources 9 10 9 
			  
			 Ninth Tax credits 0 0 0 
			  Means tested benefits 0 0 0 
			  Other benefits 3 4 4 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 86 86 85 
			  Other sources 10 10 11 
			  
			 Top Tax credits 0 0 0 
			  Means tested benefits 0 0 0 
			  Other benefits 2 2 2 
			  Earnings (excluding tax credits) 84 83 82 
			  Other sources 15 15 16 
			  Notes:  1. The incomes used employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or equivalised) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.  2. Income has been equivalised using OECD equalisation factors.  3. The information shown is for the United Kingdom.  4. Quintiles are income values which divide the population, when ranked by income, into five equal-sized groups. The lowest quintile describes individuals with incomes in the bottom 20 per cent. of the income distribution. Deciles are income values which divide the population, when ranked by income, into 10 equal-sized groups. The lowest decile describes individuals with incomes in the bottom 10 per cent. of the income distribution.  5. All statistics are rounded to the nearest percentage point. Percentages may not sum to 100 because of this rounding.  6. Earnings exclude tax credits, but include income from self-employment. Remaining income includes incomes from investments, (non-state) pensions and remaining income not classified elsewhere.  7. Small changes in estimates from year to year, particularly at the bottom of the distribution, may not be significant because of data uncertainties such as sampling errors.  Source:  Family Resources Survey, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms he is considering for compensating people who are  (a) carers and  (b) retirees between the ages of 50 and 59 years who are paying more tax as a result of the abolition of the 10 per cent. starting rate.

Jane Kennedy: The Chancellor wrote to the Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee on 23 April to outline that the Government intends to do more to help low-income households.
	The letter made clear that a report into the issue will be published in time for the pre-Budget report and that the Chancellor will report back to the House of Commons in the pre-Budget report.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what compensation is planned for retired people over the age of 65 years who are adversely affected by the abolition of the 10 pence income tax rate.

Jane Kennedy: Budget 2007 announced increases in age-related income tax allowances for those aged 65 or over by 1,180 above indexation in April 2008, removing around 600,000 pensioners from paying tax. As a result of personal tax and benefit measures announced in Budget 2007, by April 2008 pensioner households will be, on average, 80 per year better off.
	The Government have made clear that it intends to do more to help low-income households affected by the removal of the 10p starting rate of income tax, including pensioners aged 60-64. The Chancellor's letter to John McFall of the Treasury Select Committee made clear that a report into the issue will be published in the run-up to the pre-Budget report, and that the Chancellor will report back to the House in the pre-Budget report.

Insurance: VAT

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what value of VAT receipts have been received by his Department from insurance claims from the flooding in summer 2007.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on VAT from individual goods and services.
	The extent to which spending related to the floods and funded by insurance claims might impact on overall VAT receipts is unclear given the need to take into account a broad and complex range of reclaim, offsetting and displacement factors over a reasonable period of time. As such, no assessment has been made.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter dated 19 March 2008, regarding VAT paid by Mercia Inshore Search and Rescue on equipment and services (PO Ref: 1/55630/2008).

Jane Kennedy: I replied to the hon. Member on 30 April.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to answer the letter of 10 March 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton, with regard to Mrs. N. Hussain.

Jane Kennedy: I replied to the right hon. Member on 24 April.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Joan Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been raised by the introduction of the premium rate 0845 telephone number at HM Revenue and Customs; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs do not operate any premium rate telephone services and raise no revenue through the use of 0845 business rate lines.

Tax Yields: Sustainable Development

Alan Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what forecast he has made of the revenue which will accrue to his Department as a result of the  (a) Carbon Emissions Reduction Target,  (b) Renewables Obligation,  (c) European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and  (d) Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation in 2008.

Angela Eagle: No revenue is generated for the Treasury by the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT). The purpose of CERT is to help electricity and gas consumers in the household sector to reduce the carbon impact (footprint) of their home by using energy more efficiently, reducing consumption and using energy from renewable sources. Specifically, CERT is an obligation on energy suppliers to achieve an overall target of 154 MtCO2 lifetime reduction in carbon emissions, equivalent to annual net savings of 4.2 MtCO2 by 2010, and will stimulate about 2.8 billion of investment by energy suppliers in promoting carbon reduction measures. Suppliers must direct at least 40 per cent. of carbon savings to a priority group of low-income and elderly consumers, contributing to the alleviation of fuel poverty. Overall around 1.5 billion is expected to be directed at the priority group.
	There are no revenues generated from the Renewables Obligation (RO). The RO places an obligation on UK suppliers of electricity to source an increasing proportion of their electricity from renewable sources. Suppliers can comply with their obligation either by presenting ROCs or by paying a buyout amount. Any revenue generated by these buyouts is redistributed to suppliers depending on the number of ROCs they present against their obligation.
	In Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which runs from 2008 to 2012, Government will auction 7 per cent. of allowances. This equates to approximately 85 million allowances, plus those allowances from installations that close during Phase II and any unused surplus from the New Entrant Reserve (NER). The total amount cannot exceed 10 per cent. of the number allocated during Phase II according to the terms of the EU ETS Directive 2003/87/EC. The amount of revenue will be influenced by the market price of carbon at the time of the auctions.
	The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation does not generate revenue. It places a legal obligation on transport fuel suppliers to supply a specified proportion of their road fuel supplies to their customers in the UK from renewable energy sources. Suppliers demonstrate their compliance through a certification system using 'Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates' (RTFCs). Suppliers can choose to 'buy out' of their obligation, with moneys collected through this going into a 'buy out fund'. The fund will be recycled among obligated companies in proportion to actual fulfilment of the Obligation through the redemption of certificates.

Taxation: Land

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent research his Department has conducted into land value taxation.

Jane Kennedy: The Treasury keeps a range of tax options under consideration in the course of its policy making process.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 898W, on the Valuation Office, on what date the automated valuation model was last calibrated.

Jane Kennedy: Automated valuation model technology used by the Valuation Office Agency has allowed calibration to be undertaken at many and different times throughout the country with several models having been adopted. Accordingly, there is no single date that can be given.

Valuation Office: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency's Valuebill interface applies to  (a) England or  (b) England and Wales.

Jane Kennedy: It applies to England and Wales.

Valuation Office: Northern Ireland Land and Property Services

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings representatives of the Valuation Office Agency have had with Northern Ireland Land and Property Services in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: Representatives of the Valuation Office Agency have met with representatives of the Northern Ireland Land and Property Services on 8 occasions in the last 12 months. The meetings were to discuss valuation issues and practices common to the public sector.

Valuation Office: Procurement

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency's purchase orders are recorded in an electronic database.

Jane Kennedy: They are.

Valuation Office: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency's customer services manual.

Jane Kennedy: The agency's customer service manual is currently being comprehensively rewritten, and this rewrite is expected to be complete next month, whereupon the updated version will be published on the VOA website.

VAT: Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has accrued to the Exchequer from value added tax receipts on  (a) home information packs and  (b) energy performance certificates to date.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on VAT from individual goods and services.

VAT: Repairs and Maintenance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue to the Exchequer from value added tax charged on repairs to flood-damaged property in 2007.

Jane Kennedy: No estimate has been made.

Welfare Tax Credits: Finance

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will break down the prepared total managed expenditure 2006 to 2011 as included in Budget 2008 Table C9, for tax credits, by funding allocated for  (a) working tax credit and  (b) child tax credit, excluding the allocation for child allowances in income support and jobseeker's allowance.

Jane Kennedy: The figures in Table C9 are of net payments on a cash basis. The detailed information needed to break these down between child tax credit and working tax credit is not available.
	However, Table 3.1 at Note 3 to the HMRC Trust Statement for 2006-07 shows the full breakdown for HMRC expenditure in that year on an accruals basis. Note that these figures exclude the payments of child allowances in income support and jobseeker's allowance, which are included in the tax credits figure shown in table C9, as explained in footnote 1 to that table.

Welfare Tax Credits: Telephone Services

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1691W, on welfare tax credits: telephone services, whether the staffing cost for 2006-07 is for both the claimants and the hon. Members' tax credit helpline.

Jane Kennedy: The staffing costs in my previous answer related only to the claimants tax credit helpline.
	The other data are not available in the format requested as the information cannot be disaggregated from other costs. The number of staff on the tax credit office MP hotline fluctuates according to demand and advisers are assigned other tasks during less busy periods.

Working Tax Credit

Maria Miller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of people claimed working tax credit in  (a) Basingstoke constituency,  (b) Hampshire and  (c) England in each year for which records are available;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of people claimed working tax credit in  (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford and  (b) the London Borough of Bexley in each year for which records are available.

Jane Kennedy: Tax Credit take-up rate estimates are not available at constituency or local authority level.
	Estimates of Child and Working Tax Credit take-up rates for 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06, by country and region, are produced in table 9 of the HMRC publications Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Take-up Statistics, which are published on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-take-up.htm
	Estimates of the number of families with tax credit awards, by constituency, local authority and country, based on final family circumstances and incomes, are available in the HMRC publications Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards. Geographical Analysis for the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. These publications and provisional estimates for the number of families, by constituency, with tax credit awards as at selected dates up to April 2008 are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm

Working Tax Credit: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Enfield North constituency receive working tax credit.

Jane Kennedy: In 2005-06, the average number of families receiving working tax credits in the Enfield North constituency was 2,500.
	This information is from the HMRC publication Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards 2005-06. Geographical Analysis, which is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm
	The same information for 2006-07 is due to be published on 20 May 2008.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which items are prohibited from being  (a) posted,  (b) shipped in military transport and  (c) individually carried from (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan by (A) members of the armed forces and (B) departmental civilians.

Des Browne: All armed forces personnel and MOD staff are subject to stringent internationally recognised civilian standards with regards to posting, shipping in military transport and individually carrying items from any theatre of operations. The criteria are defined in the appropriate dangerous goods regulations. The nature of military operations necessitate for national security and operational reasons, some key exemptions such as movement of munitions by air, which are defined in Joint Service Publication 367 for postal and Joint Service Publication 800 for movements and transport.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of airbridge flights for personnel serving in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan have been delayed, broken down by number of hours delayed.

Bob Ainsworth: Punctuality data for airbridge flights to and from Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 12 months are set out in the following table:
	
		
			   Op Telic (Iraq)  Op Herrick (Afghanistan) 
			  Percentage 
			 On time or less than one hour's delay 83 72 
			 Between one and three hours delay 11 11 
			 Between three and six hours delay 3 7 
			 More than six hours delay 4 11 
		
	
	Punctuality is measured against the scheduled time of arrival. Percentages have been rounded and may therefore not total 100 per cent.
	The airbridge has provided a consistent and reliable service over the period, moving large numbers of personnel and material into hostile environments under difficult conditions and over strategic distances. Every effort is made to minimise delays.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) fully-armed and  (b) partially-armed personnel carriers have been lost due to (i) enemy fire and (ii) accidents in (A) Afghanistan and (B) Iraq since 2003.

Des Browne: holding answer 1 May 2008
	I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of Taliban insurgents killed by British forces in Afghanistan since 2001.

Des Browne: We do not routinely collate data on the number of insurgents killed by UK forces in Afghanistan. Collecting accurate information would be extremely difficult, given the dynamic nature of the conflict. As we have repeatedly made clear, the long term means to defeat the insurgency in Afghanistan is through a wide range of military and non-military activities and not through an attritional military campaign. In many instances, therefore, the inevitable risks to our service personnel from trying accurately to collect the information required to answer this question outweigh the benefits from obtaining that data.

Aircraft Carriers

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last reduced specifications on the new aircraft carriers.

Bob Ainsworth: Officials agreed the latest version of the ship specification for the new aircraft carriers with industry in January 2008.

Armed Forces

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the latest Chief of the General Staff Briefing Team Report.

Bob Ainsworth: Yes. I shall place a copy of the most recently published Chief of the General Staff's Briefing Team report, covering the second half of 2007 in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Graduates

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many university graduates joined  (a) the Army,  (b) the Royal Navy and  (c) the Royal Air Force in each of the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) rules,  (b) procedures and  (c) standards set up by his Department are for (i) quality evaluation, (ii) maintenance and (iii) allocation of housing; when these were last (A) reviewed and (B) modified; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: This Department keeps its estate under constant review to ensure that it is of the right size and quality to meet defence needs. All 70,193 Service Families Accommodation (SFA) properties worldwide are assessed by Grade for Charge (GfC), which takes account the physical condition of the accommodation and other factors such as location and closeness to amenities.
	There are four levels of GfC, one being the highest and four the lowest. The Four Tier Grading System (4TG) is normally reviewed every four years and the Services agree how changes, which have taken place during the previous four years, will be reflected in the 4TG Regulations and whether the scoring criteria should be reviewed. However, this Department is currently conducting a review of the 4TG to ensure it is transparent and simple to understand.
	Maintenance of SFA worldwide is carried-out under a number of separate contractual arrangements. The majority of properties are maintained by Modern Housing Solutions (MHS) who provide a response maintenance service to occupants via a freephone Helpdesk which prioritises calls on an emergency, urgent or routine basis. MHS also carries out planned maintenance, such as the replacement of items such as boilers and kitchens.
	MHS is contractually required to provide this Department with monthly performance statistics and is subject to spot checks and percentage audits of work completed and in progress to ensure that contractual conditions and standards are being met.
	Regulations governing the allocation and occupation of Service accommodation are set out in Tri-Service Accommodation Regulations (Joint Service Publication 464) which is reviewed continually, and was last updated in September 2007.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel were serving as part of  (a) UN and  (b) NATO forces at the latest date for which figures are available; and where such forces are stationed.

Des Browne: As at 28 April 2008 there were 300 UK service personnel deployed on UN operations, 280 of whom were located in Cyprus. Other locations include Georgia, Nepal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia.
	As at 28 April 2008 there were 9,050 UK service personnel serving as part of NATO forces, of which 8,900 were located in Afghanistan and 150 were located in the Balkans region.
	The figure for Afghanistan is artificially high due to the handover period while Relief In Place (RIP) is in operation. The number of personnel in theatre will naturally fluctuate on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including leave (rest and recuperation), temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces and other factors.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which country each part of the Combat Soldier 95 uniform is manufactured.

Bob Ainsworth: Combat Soldier 95 uniforms are part of the Cut and Sew contract awarded to Cooneen Watts and Stone Ltd. in June 2004. The majority of the items are manufactured in China, with some small quantities being made in the UK and Lithuania.

Armed Forces: Young People

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many school leavers joined the  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force in each of the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

AWE Burghfield

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will propose changes to the  (a) management and  (b) procedures and systems at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield to reduce the likelihood of any future necessary cessation of services on safety grounds; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The nuclear site licensee at AWE Burghfield is AWE plc, which manages the site under Government owned/contractor operated arrangements. The external regulator, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), is satisfied that operations are safe and has not taken action to stop live nuclear work at AWE Burghfield. Ministry of Defence officials maintain a constant dialogue with AWE plc and NII colleagues. There is therefore no reason for ministerial intervention.

Defence Estates: Charities

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy on charging charities to host fundraising events on Ministry of Defence property is.

Derek Twigg: The Department's policy on charging is set out in JSP 368, the MOD Guide to Repayment, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Where services/facilities are provided to external organisations (including charities), the full costs of those services/facilities should normally be recovered. Consideration is given to abating charges if the benefit to the MOD justifies it.

Departmental Contracts

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which companies have been given strategic partner status by his Department.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence has strategic partnering arrangements with BAE Systems, AgustaWestland and EADS. The latter is an agreement between EADS and HM Government.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent by his Department on the appeal to the Information Tribunal in Campaign Against Arms Trade vs The Information Commissioner and Ministry of Defence (EA/2007/40); and what fees have been paid to his Department's counsel in this case.

Bob Ainsworth: Legal fees incurred up to the end of March 2008 in defending the appeal brought by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade were 35,155.12. These are made up of 26,391.29 paid to the Treasury Solicitor and 8,763.83 paid to counsel.

Departmental Information Officers

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 796W, on what pay bands are applied to press officers in  (a) his Department and  (b) regional press offices; and how many press officers are in each band.

Derek Twigg: The Pay bands and number of Press Officers in each band is set out in the following table. This includes staff employed in the Central Press Office in London and Regional Defence Press Officers.
	
		
			  Pay Bands from 1 August 2007 
			  Pay Band  Minima  Maxima  Press Officer N umbers 
			 E2 12,694 19,315 0 
			 E1 14,721 23,534 0 
			 D 19,315 26,626 0 
			 C2 24,725 33,253 13 
			 C1 31,650 40,515 4 
			 B2 41,528 54,488 10 
			 B1 50,958 68,048 1 
			 SCS ML1 55,100 116,000 1 
			 Total:   29 
		
	
	It does not include those employed as press officers in the Defence Agencies, the Permanent Joint Head Quarters, single Service Commands or at Unit level, some of whom have a press officer task in addition to their main role.

Departmental Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what his most recent estimate is of the unfunded liability in present value terms of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and on what assumptions for  (a) discount and  (b) longevity the estimate is based;
	(2)  what the unfunded liability in present value terms was of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1990-91;
	(3)  what the  (a) rate and  (b) cost was of employer contributions for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department has responsibility in each year since 1990-91; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what the effect on his Department's expenditure would be of increasing the employee contribution to each pension scheme for which his Department is responsible by 1 per cent.; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its Executive agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence is only responsible for the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS). The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). The information requested on the AFPS is contained within the AFPS resource accounts which are available in the Library of the House. The first set of resource accounts produced for the AFPS was for financial year 1998-99. These were un-audited as this was regarded as a 'dry run' for resource accounting within the MOD.
	None was produced prior to this and therefore information is only available from this date. The first formal set of AFPS resource accounts to be published was in financial year 1999-2000.
	It should also be noted that the AFPS is a non-contributory pension scheme and as such, the only contributions made are those made by the employer, which in this case is the MOD.
	The total cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) for the pensions of the 11 highest paid members of the MOD totalled some 13.945 million as at 31 March 2008. Many of these individuals are named in the remuneration reports that form part of the MOD's resource accounts and the cash equivalent transfer value of their public sector pensions is therefore reported annually. The remuneration reports are already in the public domain. I have reported 11 highest paid members of staff because the 10(th) and 11(th) members of staff are on the same salary rate. The CETV figure given includes both armed forces and civilian personnel.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many working days were lost by his Department due to stress-related illness in each of the last 24 months;
	(2)  how many of his Department's staff took more than  (a) five,  (b) 10,  (c) 15,  (d) 20,  (e) 25,  (f) 30,  (g) 35 and  (h) 40 days leave due to stress in each of the last five years, broken down by pay grade.

Derek Twigg: The MOD reports sickness absence figures over a 12 month period on a quarterly basis and does not report working days lost on a monthly basis. The MOD does not have a specific sickness absence code for stress. Stress falls within the Mental and Behavioural Disorders ICD10 category, which includes anxiety, depression and stress. The following table shows the number of working days lost for Ministry of Defence Civilian personnel(1) which was attributed to Mental and Behavioural Disorders ICD10 category for the 12 month period preceding each quarter point.
	(1) This includes all permanent and casual non-industrial and industrial civilian personnel, but excludes Trading Fund (except the 31 December 2007 figure), Locally Engaged Civilian and Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel.
	
		
			  Total working days lost due to Mental and Behavioural disorders in the preceding 12 month period 
			  Qtr ending  Industrial  Non-industrial  Total 
			 31 December 2005 24,680 79,670 104,340 
			 30 March 2006 23,070 76,620 99,690 
			 30 June 2006 22980 75,390 98,380 
			 30 September 2006 21,730 74,950 96,680 
			 31 December 2006 24,730 74,640 99,370 
			 30 March 2007 25,640 105,150 (1)130,790 
			 30 June 2007 24,530 102,790 127,320 
			 30 September 2007 25,510 102,990 128,500 
			 31 December 2007 25,380 99,570 (2)135,040 
			 (1) Figures from March 2007 onwards are calculated using the Cabinet Office definition of Working Days. Figures prior to this are calculated using the Standardised definition. (2 )Total includes Trading Fund personnel, due to a change in definition. Industrial and non-industrial totals may differ from previously published figures for 2007 due to this change in definition. 
		
	
	Data on the number of staff who took between five and 40 days sick leave due to stress could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Eco-Towns

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department owns land in any of the 15 locations short-listed as possible eco-towns.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) owns land in four of the 15 potential locations short-listed as possible eco-towns.
	
		
			  Serial  Proposed eco-town  MOD establishment 
			 1 Bordon-Whitehill, Hampshire Bordon Garrison 
			 2 Weston-Otmoor, Oxfordshire RAF Weston on the Green 
			 3 Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire RAF Newton 
			 4 Leeds City Region RAF Church Fenton 
		
	
	The Department also has a residual legal interest in the land at former RAF Coltishall. This is being transferred under departmental agreement for use by the Ministry of Justice, but we have yet to convey the freehold to the new owner.

HMS Endurance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of time HMS Endurance was  (a) at sea and  (b) undergoing maintenance in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The percentage of time HMS Endurance spent at sea and undergoing support maintenance in each year since 1997 was as follows:
	
		
			  Calendar year  Days at sea percentage  Support maintenance percentage 
			 1997 42 15 
			 1998 38 9 
			 1999 26 49 
			 2000 42 3 
			 2001 42 11 
			 2002 47 17 
			 2003 51 11 
			 2004 28 38 
			 2005 47 9 
			 2006 44 9 
			 2007 47 21 
		
	
	The remainder of her time was spent alongside training, self maintenance and periods of leave.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of medical personnel serving in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan were reservists in the latest period for which figures are available.

Des Browne: The proportions of UK medical personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who are reservists, as at April 2008, are 7 per cent. and 31 per cent. respectively. There is a total of around 200 UK medical personnel deployed in each theatre.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what competencies and powers the Royal Military Police have to investigate allegations of misconduct by  (a) British nationals and  (b) nationals of other countries, other than Iraqis who are employees of private military or security companies contracted to work in Iraq by his Department and British armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 1 May 2008
	The Ministry of Defence has no active contracts with Private Military or Security Companies (PMSC) in Iraq.
	Under the Army Act 1955 the RMP has jurisdiction over individuals employed in the service of, (or accompanying, such as dependents in Cyprus and Germany), a body of the regular forces that is on active service. It does not matter whether the civilian is British or a national of another country or whether they are employees of PMSCs.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the most recent tour intervals are of those units serving in the next roulement for Operation Telic.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 31 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 522-4W.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) required and  (b) actual number of units serving in the next roulement for Operation Telic is.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement on 24 April,  Official Report, columns 107-109WS. There have been no changes since my statement.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, column 58W, on Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations, for what reasons his Department does not keep records of the nationality of individuals killed in engagements involving UK forces in Iraq or Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: It is not possible to maintain accurate records of the nationalities of individuals killed by UK forces in Iraq or Afghanistan. Although battle damage assessments are conducted following an engagement, insurgents frequently do not carry documents that reliably indicate their nationality. Additionally the circumstances of engagements mean that the risks to UK forces remaining at the scene would frequently outweigh any benefits from attempting to confirm nationalities; many engagements are also conducted at ranges where UK personnel are unable to reach any insurgent fatalities before they are removed.

Military Bands: Training

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what circumstances bandsmen are being trained with live ammunition for active front-line service.

Bob Ainsworth: Musicians of the Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force receive the same initial training as any other recruit joining their respective Service. Part of this initial training package will cover weapon handling and shooting; including the firing of live ammunition. These skills are reinforced periodically through mandatory training and testing.
	Service personnel, including musicians, receive theatre-specific training prior to deployment on operations. This training includes live firing and weapon handling elements. All Service musicians deploying on operations will be issued with a personal weapon. Most will deploy in medical support roles, where the need to provide armed protection of themselves and casualties may arise.

Navy: Piracy

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the Royal Navy  (a) arresting pirates at sea and  (b) rendering arrested pirates for justice before (i) United Kingdom and (ii) non-United Kingdom courts.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Navy is prepared to meet the United Kingdom's obligations under international law with respect to piracy, in particular the United Nations Conventions on the Laws of the Sea.

Piracy

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what guidance his Department issues to Royal Navy ships operating in or passing through areas where there is a risk of piracy on  (a) intervention in and  (b) taking active steps to prevent acts of piracy;
	(2)  what guidance his Department has issued to  (a) UK-registered and  (b) Royal Navy ships operating in or passing through areas in and near Somali territorial waters where there is a risk of piracy on (i) intervention in and (ii) taking active steps to prevent acts of piracy in the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Navy provides Commanding Officers with classified policy and legal advice to enable them to fulfil the United Kingdom's obligations under international law, including in particular, the United Nations Conventions on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).
	The Department for Transport is responsible for providing advice to UK registered ships on piracy and maritime armed robbery. Up until December 2007, the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) produced the World Wide Threat to Shipping which was available via the Royal Navy website. Although this publication has now ceased, the DIS continue to provide assistance to the Department for Transport.

Royal Military Academy: Foreigners

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many overseas cadets were trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in each of the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 February 2008,  Official Report, column 2016-20W to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague).

Saudi Arabia: Defence

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia on the Saudi British Defence Cooperation Programme was signed; what the scope of the memorandum is; and whether it supersedes the al-Yamamah memoranda of understanding of  (a) 1985,  (b) 1986 and  (c) 1988.

Des Browne: The UK and Saudi Arabian Governments agreed to close al-Yamamah at the end of 2006. It was further agreed that support for equipment already in service with the Saudi Arabian armed forces should be provided under a new and discrete defence co-operation programme funded through the Saudi Arabian Defence Budget. This new arrangement has been named the Saudi British Defence Co-operation Programme (SBDCP) and it has been in operation since the beginning of 2007. There is no separate memorandum of understanding governing the operation and structure of the SBDCP, which operates under the auspices of the 1986 MOU.

Territorial Army: Officers

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many potential Territorial Army officers are undergoing training.

Bob Ainsworth: The Brigade Regional Training Centres are the primary source of young officers into the Territorial Army. There are currently 284 potential officers under training through these centres.

Territorial Army: Officers

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many Territorial Army (TA) officers were commissioned into the TA in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many Territorial Army officers left the Territorial Army in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table shows the total intake and outflow for Territorial Army Officers during the period 1 October 2003 to 28 February 2007. October 2003 is the earliest date for which reliable TA inflow and outflow data are available.
	
		
			  Inflow and outflow of Territorial Army officers by calendar year( 1,2,3,4) 
			  Calendar year  Inflow( 5)  Outflow( 6) 
			 2003(7) 130 80 
			 2004 490 630 
			 2005 390 560 
			 2006 370 600 
			 2007(8,9) 50 120 
			 (1) The data exclude Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS), Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS) and Mobilised TA. (2) The data are based on flows during the period 1 October 2003 to 31 December 2003, calendar years 2004, 2005, and 2006, and the period 1 January 2007 to 28 February 2007. (3) The data have been rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in '5' have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias. (4) Figures are for officers only. (5) Inflow figures include all inflow e.g. intake from civil life and intake from other parts of the armed forces, but does not include the inflow of personnel returning from mobilisation. (6) Outflow figures exclude those officers who become mobilised. (7) 1 October to 31 December 2003. (8) 1 January to 28 February 2007. (9) Due to the ongoing data validation following the introduction of the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) System, there are no TA flows information available after 1 March 2007.

Veterans: Mental Health

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the development of the community-based mental health programme for veterans announced on 23 November 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Four pilots have been launched for a new community-based veterans' mental health service, providing expert assessment and treatment within the NHS, and including input by ex-service charities. These pilots are located at Staffordshire and Shropshire, Camden and Islington, Bishop Auckland and Cardiff Vale. These will be followed shortly by two further pilots in Cornwall and Lothian. The pilots will run for two years. There will be an independent evaluation and the plan is to apply the lessons learned from them nationally. In the interim, for areas not yet covered by the pilots, veterans with mental health problems resulting from operations since 1982 may attend our Medical Assessment Programme based at St. Thomas' Hospital, London.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Archaeology

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the  (a) terms of reference and  (b) timetable of the review of the portable antiquities scheme are; who is to undertake the review; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council's (MLA) review of the portable antiquities scheme will examine the objectives of the scheme and options for its future management and delivery. The MLA will make an announcement about the timetable of the review and who will undertake it in due course.

Archaeology: Finance

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effect on the operation of the portable antiquities scheme of the decision to maintain funding for the scheme at 2007-08 levels in 2008-09.

Margaret Hodge: I have made no such assessment
	The portable antiquities scheme (PAS) is funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and administered on their behalf by the British Museum. Any assessment regarding the scheme is, therefore, a matter for the MLA and the British Museum. The MLA recognises that the PAS is of national importance and will be conducting a review of the scheme in partnership with other stakeholders.

Architecture: Education

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been paid to Culture 24 for services relating to the Engaging Places project.

Margaret Hodge: Culture24 has been paid 23,500 to produce an Engaging Places editorial strategy and online web portal of heritage and built environment education opportunities that will be made available to schools later this year.

Architecture: Education

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding he has allocated for the Engaging Places project; and how much of this has been allocated to the provision of online resources to accompany the project.

Margaret Hodge: In 2007-08 DCMS provided 75,000 of support towards research, piloting a network of learning providers and the development of an online website portal in partnership with Culture24. Other funding support came from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and English Heritage. Out of the total budget for Engaging Places 50,000 was allocated towards the research, design and development of a web portal. Culture24 is providing the web portal and consultancy services.
	In 2008-09 DCMS will contribute 100,000 to support the next phase of Engaging Places. This will support the appointment of a new online editor for the Engaging Places website and the development of a network linking learning providers and schools with an interest in heritage and the built environment. Additional support will come from CABE and English Heritage.

Arts Council England: Art Works

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value of works of art owned by Arts Council England was in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07 and  (c) 2007-08.

Margaret Hodge: Arts Council England's (ACE) collection was formed in 1946 for the purpose of promoting and enriching the nation's knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art, through touring exhibitions and loans to galleries and public buildings throughout the country. The collection consists of over 7,600 pieces and its value was:
	
		
			
			 2005-06 51,838,000 
			 2006-07 68,220,000 
			 2007-08 72,487,485 
		
	
	These figures have been provided by ACE. The figures for the years 2005-06 and 2006-07 are audited valuations; the 2007-08 figure is based on a valuation that has not yet been audited.

Arts Council England: Grants

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Arts Council England awarded in grants in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: This information has been provided by Arts Council England (ACE) and is set out in the table. The figures have been sourced from ACE's published annual accounts. Aside from grant making, ACE also expends grant in aid monies directly on arts activities.
	
		
			  000 
			  Year  GIA grants awarded  Lottery grants  Total grants 
			 1996-97 180,525 344,450 524,975 
			 1997-98 182,655 455,794 638,449 
			 1998-99 188,293 57,925 246,218 
			 1999-2000 214,232 182,288 396,520 
			 2000-01 232,955 131,282 364,237 
			 2001-02 239,407 162,833 402,240 
			 2002-03 261,330 120,455 381,785 
			 2003-04 277,039 168,188 445,227 
			 2004-05 316,090 189,891 505,981 
			 2005-06 352,401 210,928 563,329 
			 2006-07 374,861 141,460 516,321 
			 Total 2,819,788 2,165,494 4,985,282

Betting Shops

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 3 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1137W, on betting shops, how much and what percentage of the Tote's revenue came from these terminals in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Category B2 gaming machines (formerly called Fixed Odds Betting Terminals) in betting shops did not contribute to the Tote's revenues before 2002-03. Since 2002-03 their contribution to gross profit has been as follows:
	
		
			million  Percentage 
			 2002-03 2.678 2.8 
			 2003-04 15.331 12.2 
			 2004-05 21.736 16.4 
			 2005-06 29.232 20.9 
			 2006-07 35.265 22.4

Casinos: Gaming Machines

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what restrictions are placed on the number of slot machines in land-based casinos established under the Gaming Act 1968; and if he will review them.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 1 May 2008
	In October 2005 the number of category B gaming machines which casinos licensed under the Gaming Act 1968 are permitted to offer was doubled to 20. Alternatively, they are permitted to offer an unlimited number of category C and category D machines. There are no plans to revisit these allocations.

Coastal Areas: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will provide a break down of the sources of funding for the Sea Change programme.

Margaret Hodge: The 45 million Sea Change fund (15 million a year over three years 2008-11) will come from DCMS departmental funds made available through the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. Partnership funding for large grants will come from regional development agencies and other public and private sources. Local authorities will be encouraged to seek partnership funding for projects eligible under the open application programme from a variety of public, private and voluntary sector sources.

Consultants

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments VisitLondon made to  (a) Mandate Communications and  (b) AS Biss and Co in each of the last five years; and on what dates and for what purpose the payment was made in each case.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not have responsibility for Visit London affairs; any matter relating to this body falls under the remit of the Mayor of London.

Departmental Buildings

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate has been made of the value of those parts of Oceanic house for which his Department is responsible; and what progress has been made on a possible sale.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No valuation has been placed on the parts of Oceanic house that the Department had occupied as the areas were leased. The Department is not involved in the sale of the property but is at present negotiating its exit from the lease agreement with the landlord's agents.

Departmental Buildings

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of building services was to his Department in each of the last three years; and how much he expects them to cost in each of the next three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Building services have been taken to mean facilities management, catering, security, reprographics and mail room services. The total costs to the Department are as follows.
	
		
			   Cost ()  Actual/Estimate 
			 2005-06 3,009,532 Actual 
			 2006-07 3,156,969 Actual 
			 2007-08 2,834,495 Estimate(1) 
			 2008-09 2,471,000 Estimate 
			 2009-10 2,541,000 Estimate 
			 2010-11 2,533,000 Estimate 
			 (1) Departmental resource accounts are still being processed and this estimate may be subject to minor change.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what savings his Department has identified as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review value for money programme; and when he expects these savings to be realised.

Andy Burnham: The Department has identified 149.4 million value for money (VfM) savings. This exceeds our target from HM Treasury of 148 million savings. Further details of these savings, including when we expect to realise them, can be found in our VfM Delivery Agreement, copies of which are available in the House Libraries.

Departmental Energy

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department has taken to reduce its energy consumption in the last 12 months; and what his Department's expenditure on energy was in  (a) the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available and  (b) the immediately preceding 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: The Department has developed an energy strategy with a detailed action plan with key action dates and assigned responsibilities.
	As part of the Department's refurbishment of its Headquarters at Cockspur Street we installed energy efficient light fittings. This is 30 per cent. more efficient than previous fittings. The Ground Floor was installed with the manufacturer's advanced light fitting which is 60 per cent. more efficient.
	The Department is supplied with 100 per cent. renewable electricity supplied under the OGC Buying Solutions contract.
	The Department was accredited to the Carbon Trust administered Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme.
	Energy expenditure is a follows:
	
		
			   
			 2007-08 343,352 
			 2006-07 486,665

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many freedom of information requests made to his Department were  (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days,  (b) not answered and  (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the act came into force.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Ministry of Justice has published two annual reports containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies (including central Government Departments) in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following address:
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/statisticsAndReports.htm
	The 2007 annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via the MOJ website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires public bodies to respond to written requests within 20 working days of receipt, but allows additional time for the consideration of the public interest in disclosing the requested information.
	The published reports provide statistics on the number of non-routine requests received during each period where: an initial response was provided within 20 working days; an initial response was given outside this time but a public interest test extension had been applied; an initial response was given outside this time and no public interest test extension was applied, and where no initial response had been given at the time the statistics were collected.
	The 2006 annual report provides statistics on the duration of the public interest test extensions in that year. Corresponding statistics for 2007 will be available when the 2007 annual report is published.
	Information requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered in time (i.e. meeting the deadline or with a permitted extension) in 2007 was 75 per cent.
	For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the Department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOI exemption or EIR exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 67, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to information available by other means are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1744W, on departmental public participation, what the  (a) cost and  (b) number of respondents was for each (i) survey, (ii) questionnaire and (iii) other service.

Margaret Hodge: The number of respondents and costs for each survey (including questionnaire development, data cleaning, analysis and presentation) are given as follows. For the 'other service' the number of respondents is not applicable as this is an online data manipulation tool.
	
		
			  Service  Respondents  Cost (000) 
			  Surveys and Questionnaires   
			 Taking Part 26,500 2,818 50 
			 Omnibus surveyOlympics legacy 22,115  
			 DCMS staff survey 459 22 
			 Non-departmental public body survey 104 4 
			
			  Other services   
			 NetQuest development n/a 101

Departmental Research

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department's joint research budget will be in each of the next three years; and what projects have been commissioned from the budget to date.

Margaret Hodge: The total value for the budget for conducting joint research for each of the next three years is as follows:
	
		
			   000 
			   Budget 
			 2008-09 3,424 
			 2009-10 3,431 
			 2010-11 3,438 
		
	
	We have yet to commission anything from this budget, though we are in the final stages of contracting our national survey of participation ('Taking Part') which is covered by this budget.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many working days were lost by his Department due to stress-related illness in each of the last 24 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost to the Department. The Department has an additional responsibility to protect the identity of its staff.
	However, I am able to provide the following information set out as follows.
	 2007
	Total days lost were 2,375. Of these 35.45 per cent. were due to mental disorders which included stressrelated illnesses.
	 2006
	Total days lost were 2,687. Of these 27 per cent. were due to mental disorders which included stressrelated illnesses.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many days sick leave were taken on average by staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The years for which figures are available are:
	
		
			   Annual working days lost(AWDL)  Total days lost 
			 2007 4.6 2,375 
			 2006 4.9 2,687 
			 2005 6.6 4,560 
		
	
	
		
			  Working Days lost per staff year 
			 2004 5.6

Engaging Places

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to publish the Engaging Places research into heritage and built environment education; and how much this research has cost to date.

Margaret Hodge: DCMS expects to publish the Engaging Places research into the supply and demand of heritage and built environment education in England shortly. The research into heritage and built environment education has cost in total 53,618.36 (including VAT), and the evaluation of options to take Engaging Places forward cost 24,827.75 (including VAT).

English Sports Council

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of the new Sport England Strategy and Business Plan.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This report will be published shortly and I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

English Sports Council: Olympic Games 2012

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been raised by UK Sport towards the target of 100 million of private sector funding for elite sport programmes ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Andy Burnham: The fund raising aspect of this project has not yet started. The Department continues to work with UK Sport and others in the development of proposals for raising 100 million of private sector funding for elite athletes. Further details will be announced in due course.

Fast Track

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what contracts his Department has with the marketing agency Fast Track; what the value of these contracts is; and what services are being supplied under them.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department does not have any contracts in place with Fast Track.

Gambling: Licensing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether gambling licences issued under the Gaming Act 1968 can be transferred to different premises within the designated local authority areas.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Existing gaming licences issued under the Gaming Act 1968 Act have now been converted into the relevant premises licence under the Gambling Act 2005. A converted casino licence can only be relocated to premises which are situated within the area of the licensing authority which issued the licence. A converted bingo premises licence cannot be relocated to different premises.

Lacrosse: Finance

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Youth Sport Trust spent on the development of lacrosse in the last 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As a registered charity, the work of the Youth Sport Trust is to help build a better future for young people through sport. They are working with the network of school sport partnerships and sports colleges across the country to ensure all young people have access to at least five hours of PE and school sport by 2012. Their remit is not to fund individual sports, so they have not spent any money directly on lacrosse.

Ministerial Steering Board on the Creative Economy

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who sits on the Ministerial Steering Board on the Creative Economy; when it will first meet; and how often he expects it to meet.

Andy Burnham: The Creative Economy Programme Ministerial Steering Board will be chaired by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State. The Board will include Ministers from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and a number of high-level representatives from across the Creative Sectors. We are currently finalising the membership of the Board and will publish full details on www.cep.culture.gov.uk shortly.
	The first meeting will be held by the end of June and will occur approximately quarterly thereafter.

National Lottery: Brass Bands

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been given to brass bands from national lottery funds in each of the last five years.  [Official Report, 20 May 2008, Vol. 476, c. 3MC.]

Margaret Hodge: The big lottery fund has been able to supply the following figures for the value of relevant grants across the UK in the last five years, including grants made under the Awards for All joint scheme:
	
		
			   Total value of grants () 
			 2003-04 144,293 
			 2004-05 81,314 
			 2005-06 151,542 
			 2006-07 176,572 
			 2007-08 109,663 
			 Total 663,204 
		
	
	Arts Council England has been able to supply the following figures for lottery funding it has provided in the last five years for activities or projects that involve brass and silver bands. Arts Council England state that these figures have been prepared using a more sophisticated classification system than previously used. This system has been introduced to allow the Arts Council to more accurately classify projects that involve a number of different art forms or activities.
	
		
			   
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  Total 
			 Activities or projects that involve brass or silver bands to some extent 39,315 78,958 72,214 21,890 39,972 252,349 
			 Activities or projects that predominantly or wholly involve brass or silver bands 35,860 60,521 23,687 67,410 13,930 201,408 
			 Total 75,175 139,479 95,901 89,300 53,902 453,757 
		
	
	'Some extent', is defined as funded activity or project classified as 25 per cent. or 50 per cent. relating to brass or silver bands. 'Predominantly or wholly', is defined as funded activity classified as 75 per cent. or 100 per cent. relating to brass or silver bands.
	In addition youth music (which distributes lottery funds on behalf of the Arts Council) has provided the following financial support to the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain:
	
		
			  National youth brass band of Great Britain () 
			 2003-04 100,000 
			 2004-05 110,000 
			 2005-06 120,000 
			 2006-07 120,000 
			 2007-08 123,000 
			 Total 573,000

National Lottery: North West

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many projects received lottery funding in  (a) Wirral South constituency,  (b) Merseyside and  (c) the North West in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information appears in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of lottery grants 
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			 Wirral, South constituency 11 15 
			 County of Merseyside 523 393 
			 North west region 2,544 1,849 
		
	
	The statistics are derived from the Department's Lottery Grants database, which uses information supplied by the lottery distributors and is searchable at
	www.lottery.culture.gov.uk

National Lottery: North West

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery funding was made available in  (a) Wirral South constituency,  (b) Merseyside and  (c) the North West in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information appears in the following table:
	
		
			 ( 1) 000 
			   Value of lottery grants 
			   2006/07  2007/08 
			 Wirral, South constituency 77 349 
			 County of Merseyside 32,261 22,576 
			 North west region 99,331 117,076 
			 (1 )Rounded to nearest 1,000 
		
	
	The statistics are derived from the Department's Lottery Grants Database, which uses information supplied by the lottery distributors and is searchable at
	www.lottery.culture.gov.uk.

Playgrounds: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding his Department provided to the Department for Children, Schools and Families-led Sporting Playgrounds scheme in each of the last five years; and what contributions his Department plans to make in each of the next three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 March,  Official Report, column 144W.
	In April 2005 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, announced a 2 million investment to extend the Sporting Playgrounds programme which is also funded through the DCSF. This scheme refurbishes existing primary school playgrounds to enhance opportunities for sporting activity. Over 600 primary school playgrounds have been developed since the programme began in 2001.
	There are no plans for a Sporting Playgrounds programme over the next three years.

Recreation Spaces: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on parks and green spaces in the London Borough of Enfield in real terms in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: The DCMS has not spent any money on parks and green spaces in the London borough of Enfield as the Department does not directly fund these amenitiesfunding at local level is provided to local authorities via Communities and Local Government.
	DCMS mainly channels its Exchequer funding via its family of non-departmental public bodies, who provide a wide variety of services at national, regional and local levels.

S4C: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding his Department plans to provide for S4C in each of the next three years.

Andy Burnham: The grant-in-aid estimate for 2008-09 is 98,112,000.
	The annual increase for S4C is calculated by a statutory formula under section 61 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (as amended). As this formula refers to the Retail Price Index in future years, exact figures for future years have not yet been calculated.

Strategic, Necessary and Proportionate Test

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of his Department's staff were involved in developing the strategic, necessary and proportionate test; and if he will provide a breakdown of the costs of developing the test by main budget heading.

Margaret Hodge: The strategic, necessary and proportionate test was developed following a series of staff and NDPB workshops and discussions as part of the DCMS transformation programme, responding to the DCMS Capability review. Discussions were led by a small volunteer taskforce of staff reporting to a DCMS Director. It is not possible to confirm exact staff numbers involved, or staff costs (although they are expected to be minimal). The test was developed to clarify the principles and factors DCMS should consider when choosing what work to pursue and how to approach it in order to maximise the 'added value' delivered by the Department and hence deliver the maximum possible value for the public.

Tourism Strategy Fund

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to continue funding the Tourism Strategy Fund.

Margaret Hodge: As my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport set out in his reply to the hon. Member for South West Surrey on 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1753W, the Tourism Strategy Fund was a time limited budget. It was used to fund a number of tourism support initiatives arising from the policy document Tomorrow's Tourism in 1999.
	Substantial support for tourism from DCMS continues, and is now used to take forward the objectives set out last September in Winning, the DCMS Strategy for the 2012 Games. This work is funded from DCMS grant-in-aid to VisitBritain (49.9 million in 2007-08), to the Regional Development Agencies (3.6 million in 2007-08), and the Greater London Authority (1.9 million in 2007-08).

Tourism: Finance

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his latest estimate is of the tourism deficit; and how this figure compares to the equivalent for 1997.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 28 April 2008
	The UK's tourism balance of payments deficit was 4.8 billion in 1997, and 18.4 billion in 2006.
	This change reflects rising prosperity in the UK over the last decade, and easier and cheaper air travel. The Government are working with the industry to make holidaying in this country more attractive to UK residents and we published our strategy Winning: A Tourism Strategy for 2012 and Beyond last September. I hold regular meetings with the tourism industry as we work in partnership to implement the strategy.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Disorder Zones: Finance

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on planning the national implementation of alcohol disorder zones.

Jacqui Smith: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1274W.

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the contribution of the Pubwatch scheme to reducing alcohol-related crime and disorder; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 1 May 2008
	There has been no formal assessment of the contribution of the Pubwatch scheme in relation to the reduction of alcohol related crime and disorder.
	The Home Office is aware that Pubwatch operates in a number of areas, some of which are more active than others. Pubwatch operates alongside other measures to tackle alcohol related disorder, and therefore it is not possible to quantify the contribution made by the Pubwatch scheme in isolation. However, the Government are of the view that where active, it may contribute to a reduction in antisocial behaviour and alcohol related crime and disorder. Additionally it will also positively contribute to the development of effective partnerships between the police and the alcohol industry.

Alcoholic Drinks: Public Order Offences

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) cautioned,  (b) prosecuted and  (c) given a penalty notice for disorder for being drunk and disorderly in a public place in each of the last two years.

Vernon Coaker: The number of cautions and penalty notices for disorder issued, along with the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts, for drunk and disorderly offences in England and Wales for the years 2005 and 2006 can be viewed in the following tables 1 and 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: The number of cautions issued and the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts, for drunk and disorderly offences in England and Wales for the years 2005 and 2006( 1,3,4) 
			   Proceeded against  Caution( 2) 
			 2005 17,734 8,263 
			 2006 17,313 5,477 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and final warnings. Reprimands and final warnings are included in the above data. (3) Data includes the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions: Licensing Act 1872 Sec 12: Being found drunk in a highway or other Public place whether a building or not, or a licensed premises. Criminal Justice Act 1967 Sec.91: Any person who in any public place is guilty, while drunk, of disorderly behaviour. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, other agencies, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Court proceedings data held by RDSOffice for Criminal Justice Reform - Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The number of penalty notices for disorder issued for the offences Drunk and disorderly, and Drunk in a highway in England and Wales for the years 2005 and 2006( 1,2,3) 
			   Drunk and disorderly  Drunk in a highway 
			 2005 37,038 3,138 
			 2006 43,556 2,712 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Data includes the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions: Licensing Act 1872 Sec 12: Being found drunk in a highway or other Public place whether a building or not, or a licensed premises. Criminal Justice Act 1967 Sec.91: Any person who in any public place is guilty, while drunk, of disorderly behaviour. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, other agencies, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Court proceedings data held by RDSOffice for Criminal Justice ReformMinistry of Justice

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how alcohol confiscated during the two-week enforcement campaign against underage drinking in February 2008 was disposed of.

Jacqui Smith: In line with the legislation the alcohol confiscated during the campaign was disposed of in such a manner as considered appropriate by the confiscating officer.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Hornchurch (James Brokenshire) of 12 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 666-8W, on alcohol drinks: young people, if she will publish equivalent figures for West Midlands Police force area on  (a) the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts,  (b) the number of offenders cautioned and  (c) the number of penalty notices for disorder issued.

Vernon Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 666-8W. Police force areas were not included in the table where there was no data for defendants proceeded against, cautioned or issued with a PND for illegal alcohol purchasing. This was referenced in footnote number 4.

Borders

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passenger movements there were across UK borders in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	The International Passenger Survey results in the following table show the total number of visits made to and from the UK. These are based on departures of overseas residents and arrivals of UK residents by air, sea and channel tunnel.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   Visits to the UK by overseas residents  Visits abroad by UK residents  Total visits 
			 2003 24,715 61,424 86,139 
			 2004 27,755 64,194 91,949 
			 2005 29,970 66,441 96,411 
			 2006 32,713 69,536 102,249 
			 2007(1) 33,745 71,113 104,858 
			 (1) Provisional.  Source: International Passenger Survey, Office for National Statistics.

Burglary

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of burglaries that go unreported in England and Wales each year; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The British Crime Survey (BCS) routinely collects information on whether or not crimes are reported to the police and this is presented in the annual Home Office Statistical Bulletin Crime in England and Wales, copies of which can be found in the House of Commons Library.

Burglary

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the number of unreported burglaries and break-ins in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The British Crime Survey (BCS) routinely collects information on whether or not crimes are reported to the police and this is presented in the annual Home Office Statistical Bulletin Crime in England and Wales, copies of which can be found in the House of Commons Library.

Burglary: Greater London

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many burglaries were reported in each London borough in each of the last five years; and how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions there were for burglary in each such borough and year.

Jacqui Smith: The available data relate to the number of recorded offences of burglary and are given in the following table. I am informed that information on the number of defendants proceeded against or found guilty for an offence in each London borough are not separately identifiable from the data reported to the Ministry of Justice.
	
		
			  Offences of burglary recorded by the police by London borough 
			  Number 
			  Borough  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,012 2,240 2,175 1,921 2,117 
			 Barnet 4039 3,978 4,045 4,363 3,904 
			 Bexley 2341 2,226 1,986 2,366 2,076 
			 Brent 3,859 4,062 3,987 3,904 3,330 
			 Bromley 3,596 3,472 3,776 3,926 3,588 
			 Camden 5,884 4,843 4,171 4,108 4,322 
			 City of Westminster 5,264 4,296 4,497 4,158 3,801 
			 Croydon 4,115 3,769 3,230 3,582 3,464 
			 Ealing 4,543 4,375 4,350 4,999 3,957 
			 Enfield 4301 3,865 3,528 3,844 3,638 
			 Greenwich 2,986 3,080 2,970 3,209 3,241 
			 Hackney 4,807 4,327 3,897 3,547 2,687 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,089 2,827 3,023 3,052 2,732 
			 Haringey 4,356 4,115 4,084 3,841 3,559 
			 Harrow 2,736 2,626 2,178 2,446 1,959 
			 Havering 2,386 2,161 2,315 2,453 2,511 
			 Hillingdon 3,569 3,183 3,143 3,137 3,182 
			 Hounslow 3,374 3,450 2,969 2,982 2594 
			 Islington 4,429 3,957 3,681 3,683 3,728 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2,512 2,576 2,580 2,444 2,182 
			 Kingston upon Thames 985 939 984 1,188 1,038 
			 Lambeth 5,694 4,980 4,150 3,884 3,685 
			 Lewisham 3,708 3,837 3,778 3,524 3,579 
			 Merton 1930 2,034 1,764 1,796 1,828 
			 Newham 3,494 3,398 3,410 4,112 3,371 
			 Redbridge 2,974 2,990 3,058 3,282 3,053 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,120 1,787 2,017 2,395 2,085 
			 Southwark 4,885 4,556 4,411 4,143 4,087 
			 Sutton 1,446 1,397 1,429 1,480 1,451 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,567 3,023 3,070 3,467 2,890 
			 Waltham Forest 3,812 3,284 3,144 3,131 3,116 
			 Wandsworth 4,547 3,664 3,616 3,108 3,945 
			 Total 113,360 105,317 101,416 103,475 96,698

Crime: Internet

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many websites were closed down by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency's e-crime unit in 2006-07.

Jacqui Smith: The responsibility for closing down fraudulent or malicious websites rests with communication service providers, who act on a variety of information including that which may have been provided by SOCA. SOCA is only directly involved in the closure of the site in the event that the provider has failed to respond to a take down notice, or if data needs to be preserved or acquired for a statutory purpose.
	During 2006-07, there were approximately 30 separate occasions where the e-Crime department was directly involved in the removal of such websites.

Crime: Young People

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans her Department has to include children under 16 years of age in future British Crime Survey statistics; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to his question on 3 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 2081-82W.

Crimes of Violence

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken by her Department to encourage the public to report a greater proportion of knife crime to the police.

Jacqui Smith: We are focusing considerable resources on highlighting the seriousness of knife crime. We will shortly be launching a public campaign to highlight to young people the risks of carrying knives.
	We also support the work of Be Safe, who provide weapons awareness training to young people, and train others to deliver workshops on weapons.
	CrimeStoppers are currently running a programme of outreach work, supported by the Home Office, which aims to encourage the reporting of crime, including knife crime.

Crimes of Violence

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes of violence against the person were recorded in the London borough of Bexley in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office publishes statistics at Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area level. The number of offences of violence against the person for each of the last five years for the Bexley CDRP is available on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/cdrpog.xls

Crimes of Violence: Young People

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of children under 16 years of age who were the victims of  (a) gun,  (b) knife and  (c) all violent crime in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: Relevant information on firearm offences (excluding air weapons) is available only for the years 2004-05 to 2006-07. It is not possible to identify offences involving knives from the data centrally collected on overall recorded crime. Since April 2007, police forces have been providing separate data on serious violence involving knives. As these are aggregate returns it will not be possible to determine the age of victims.
	The age of all violent crime victims is not collected centrally. Available information relates to the number of homicides of persons aged under 16 years between 1997 and 2006-07, where the apparent method of killing was 'sharp instrument' or 'shooting'.
	
		
			  Offences involving victims under 16 years old: England and Wales, 1997 to 2006-07( 1) 
			   Year offence recorded 
			   1997  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  (a) Firearms(2) 2,042 1,745 1,315 
			  (b) Knives(3)
			  (c) Homicide(4) 82 71 81 65 98 62 93 72 58 52 68 
			 of which involved apparent method:
			 Sharp instrument(5) 6 6 2 8 6 9 6 11 1 4 7 
			 Shooting(6) 2 2 0 0 2 5 2 2 2 0 5 
			 (1 )Data for 2007-08 are scheduled to be published in January 2009. (2) Excluding air weapons. The age of firearm offence victims has been collected centrally only since April 2004.  (3) Data are not centrally collected.  (4) Homicide data are as at 12 November 2007, when recording closed down for the purpose of analysis, and will change as subsequent court hearings take place or other information is received. Offences are shown according to the year in which the police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made.  (5) Includes knives and other sharp instruments.  (6) Includes shooting by crossbows.

Criminal Conviction Certificates

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) was of each criminal conviction certificate issued on an individual in each year since the inception of the CRB; what standard fee is paid by individuals requesting a check; how many certificates were requested in each year  (a) from people wishing to work in the voluntary sector,  (b) from unemployed people,  (c) from disabled people,  (d) from other individuals and  (e) in total; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The CRB issues higher level disclosures (both standard and enhanced) for employment and licensing purposes, as provided for in Part V of the Police Act 1997.
	The cost to the CRB of each standard and enhanced disclosure issued in each financial year since its inception in March 2002 is provided in the following table. The fees charged to individuals that requested a check in each year are also provided.
	
		
			  Unit cost to CRB of each disclosure 
			   
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Standard 27.76 24.94 22.73 19.94 18.34 
			 Enhanced 34.40 31.05 28.09 26.86 24.30 
			 Fees Charged by CRB for each disclosure  
			 Standard 12 24 28 29 31 
			 Enhanced 12 29 33 34 36 
		
	
	Fees for the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09 have been frozen at the 2006-07 level, meaning the cost of a disclosure has not increased since April 2006.
	The total number of disclosures requested in each financial year is shown in the following table. The number requested in respect of individuals wishing to work in the voluntary sector is also shown. The CRB does not capture data on whether applicants are unemployed or disabled.
	
		
			  Number of disclosures requested 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Total Standard 200,198 289,767 281,045 317,178 328,042 
			 Total Enhanced 1,462,802 2,059,233 2,269,955 2,568,822 2,908,958 
			 Overall Total 1,663,000 2,349,000 2,551,000 2,886,000 3,237,000 
			 Volunteer Applications 272,732 418,122 571 ,424 574,314 653,874 
		
	
	The CRB has issued over 15 million CRB checks and has developed the capacity to process in excess of 300,000 checks every month. Approximately 20 per cent. of applications are from volunteers and disclosures for volunteers continue to be processed free of charge. This has resulted in a considerable saving for the voluntary sector in excess of 20 million a year for the last four years.
	The unit cost to the CRB is the average cost of producing one disclosure, irrespective of whether the disclosure is paid for. As the CRB is self-funding, the processing costs for all the volunteer applications, processed free of charge, needs to be recovered through the fee paid by other applicants; consequently, the fee must be set higher than the unit cost.

Departmental Accountancy

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2008,  Official Report, column 602W, on departmental accountancy, what the  (a) monthly,  (b) year to date and  (c) annual budget totals are for each budget line forecast for each month since September 2007, arranged by category of expenditure in her Department's annual report and supply estimates.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 21 April 2008
	 Budget details for the whole year can be found in the 2008-09 Main Supply Estimates (HC 479) and will also be published in the Home Office departmental annual report, in May 2008. They show each area of spendby estimate line and individual activity respectively, at a disaggregated level. Further detail could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Accountancy

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2008,  Official Report, column 602W, on departmental accountancy, what the planned annual budget figures are for 2008-09 in each budget line, arranged by category of expenditure in her Department's annual report and supply estimates.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 21 April 2008
	 Budget details for 2008-09 can be found in the 2008-09 Main Supply Estimates (HC 479) and will also be published in the Home Office departmental annual report, in May 2008. They show each area of spendby estimate line and individual activity respectively, at a disaggregated level. Further detail could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Temporary Employment

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on agency staff in each of the last five years; and what the highest payment to a member of agency staff was in each of those years.

Jacqui Smith: The Home Department uses a variety of externally resourced staff to fill roles in the Department that cannot readily be filled by permanent staff. The figures given are drawn from our financial reporting systems and represent various categories of agency and other externally resourced staff, but exclude consultancy services.
	Information on the Department's spend on agency staff for 2002-03 and 2003-04 is not held centrally and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	Figures for expenditure on agency staff in the last three financial years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial Year  HO Headquarters  IPS  CRB  Total Spend () 
			 2004-05 37,000,000 5,626,207 703,756 43,329,963 
			 2005-06 38,000,000 7,746,589 354,756 46,101,345 
			 2006-07 40,000,000 26,612,732 301,998 66,914,730 
		
	
	The increase in the IPS expenditure on agency staff in 2006-07 was due to the successful introduction of a number of new initiatives which necessitated the use of interim staff. The initiatives included biometric passports, the full roll-out of Personal Identity Process (PIP) to the regions, preparation for Interview Office Network (ION), and facial recognition systems. There was also an increase in costs as work on the National Identity Scheme (NIS) began to develop.
	Information on the highest payment to a member of agency staff in each of the last five years is not held centrally and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Firearms: Crime

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many gun-related crimes were recorded by the Metropolitan police in  (a) 2000-01 and  (b) 2006-07.

Jacqui Smith: Available centrally collected data relate only to offences where firearms (excluding air weapons) have been fired, used as a blunt instrument against a person or used as a threat. The Metropolitan Police Service recorded 3,031 such firearm offences in 2000-01 and 3,327 in 2006-07.
	The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures before and after this date are not directly comparable.

Frontex

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to appeal against the judgments of the European Court of Justice in Case C-77/05 and Case C-137/05 on the UK's position on Frontex.

Jacqui Smith: We will not be appealing against the European Court of Justice's verdict on our challenge to the UK's exclusion from the Frontex Regulation. The position of the UK in relation to Frontex remains as previously: the Frontex Regulation does not bind nor apply to the UK, but the UK may take part in operations and activities on a case-by-case basis, with the agreement of the Frontex Management Board. The UK Government have a legitimate interest in the security of the external European border and we remain committed to working closely with our European partners and Frontex in strengthening that security.

Identity and Passport Service: Data Protection

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many breaches of data security there have been at the Identity and Passport Agency since its inception.

Jacqui Smith: Except in exceptional circumstances, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security.

Immigration: Biometrics

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2008,  Official Report, column 610W, on immigration: biometrics, when she plans to establish the National Identity Register.

Jacqui Smith: The National Identity Register will be established when the first identity cards are issued under the Identity Cards Act 2006, starting in the second half of 2009.

Immigration: EC Action

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the outcomes for the UK of the EC Preparatory Action Migration ManagementSolidarity in Action 2007 programme; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 25 March 2008
	Preparatory Action Migration Managementsolidarity in Action 2007 is an European Community funding stream whose awards were not granted until November 2007 onwards. The duration of projects funded under the programme can be up to 18 months. As no projects have been completed it is not yet possible to make a statement on the assessment of the outcomes.

Misconduct: Teachers

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many allegations of assault or professional misconduct against teachers by pupils were reported to the police in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Home Office is responsible for the recorded crime statistics which includes data on offences of assault recorded by the police. However, it is not possible to identify the employment status of either the victim or the offender.

Mobile Phones: Theft

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is required from people who report their mobile phones as stolen to the police before it is recorded as a crime and issued a crime reference number.

Jacqui Smith: When a mobile phone is stolen, the victim should report the incident to the police. Unless there is evidence to show that the crime did not occur, a crime reference number will be given.

National Criminal Intelligence Service Annual Report

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the National Criminal Intelligence Service Annual Report for 2005-06 will be published.

Jacqui Smith: The NCIS Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-06 were laid before Parliament on 19 July 2006.

Offensive Weapons: Crime

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knife-related violent crimes were committed in London in  (a) 2000-01 and  (b) 2006-07.

Jacqui Smith: It is not possible to identify those offences which are knife-related from the data centrally collected on overall recorded crime. However, since April 2007, police forces have been providing separate aggregate data on serious violence involving knives. Home Office statisticians will assess the quality of these data and it is planned that figures for 2007-08 will be published in the main crime bulletin in July 2008.
	Available data from the Homicide Index relate to offences currently recorded as homicide where the apparent method of killing is 'sharp instrument'. Sixty-nine such homicides were recorded in London in each of the 2000-01 and 2006-07 financial years.

Offensive Weapons: Crimes of Violence

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when data on serious violent offences involving the use of knives and sharp instruments will next be published.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 23 April 2008
	It is not possible to identify those offences involving knives or sharp instruments from the data centrally collected on overall recorded crime. However, since April 2007, police forces have been providing separate aggregate data on serious violence involving knives. Home Office statisticians will assess the quality of this data and it is planned that figures for 2007-08 will be published in 'Crime in England and Wales 2007-08' in July 2008.
	Available data from the Homicide Index relates to offences currently recorded as homicide where the apparent method of killing is 'sharp instrument'. Data relating to the period 1997-98 to 2007-08 are scheduled for publication in January 2009.

Olympic Games 2012: Security

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she  (a) was first notified of and  (b) approved the deployment of Chinese security personnel to accompany the Olympic torch procession on 6 April;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the appropriateness of the actions taken by Chinese security personnel in preventing expressions of public protest interfering with the Olympic torch procession on 6 April;
	(3)  when the Metropolitan police were notified that Chinese security personnel would be deployed in central London to accompany the Olympic torch on 6 April;
	(4)  what her policy is on the use of physical restraint by foreign security personnel against UK citizens during processions in public places, with particular reference to the Olympic torch procession on 6 April;
	(5)  how many Chinese security personnel accompanied the Olympic torch on 6 April.

Vernon Coaker: The Chinese torch attendants were employed by the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic games (BOCOG). Every torch relay has torch attendants from the Olympic organising committee responsible for the flame after it has been handed over to the host city. These attendants are responsible for lighting and extinguishing the torches and accompanying and guarding the flame. They have no policing role and the Home Office accordingly had no role in approving their deployment.
	20 Chinese torch attendants accompanied the flame. Their responsibilities were as described in the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Community Planning Guide and the contract between BOCOG and the Greater London authority and the British Olympic authority in the document AgreementOlympic Torch Relay Services dated 12 October 2007. The Chinese team did not have law enforcement authority, and, could only protect the flame and the torch-bearer by placing themselves between the offender and the torch bearer.
	The Metropolitan police service was responsible for policing the event, including protests associated with it and for dealing with any criminal offences committed.
	The Home Office has not been made aware of any specific allegations of Chinese torch attendants preventing expressions of public protest.
	Anyone who believes that a criminal offence has been committed should report it to the police in the usual way.

Olympic Games 2012: Security

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons Chinese security personnel accompanied the Olympic torch during its London relay on 6 April; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Every torch relay has torch attendants from the Olympic organising committee responsible for the flame after it has been handed over to the host city. The Chinese torch attendants were responsible for lighting and extinguishing the torches and accompanying and guarding the flame. The Metropolitan Police Service was responsible for the safety, security and safe passage of the torchbearer and torch as it travelled through London. The Chinese torch attendants had no policing role or executive power in London.

Olympic Games: China

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has made to the Chinese authorities about the deployment of members of China's security forces during the Olympic flame procession in London.

Vernon Coaker: As with all torch relays, the Olympic flame was accompanied by torch attendants employed by the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) the Olympic organising committee responsible for the flame after it has been handed over to the host city. These attendants are responsible for lighting and extinguishing the torches and accompanying and guarding the flame.
	They did not have any policing or law enforcement responsibilities. Anyone who believes that a criminal offence has been committed should report it to the police in the usual way.

Organised Crime: EC Enlargement

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions have taken place between her Department and authorities in  (a) Poland,  (b) Romania and  (c) Bulgaria on the sharing of criminal intelligence.

Jacqui Smith: Data sharing to enhance police cooperation is in all EU member states' interests for the purpose of protecting citizens against crime and terrorism. There are a number of EU-wide data sharing initiatives in use and planned, the negotiations for which involve all EU member states.

Passports: Interviews

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of face-to-face passport interviews since their introduction.

Jacqui Smith: The requirement for face-to-face interviews for adult passport applicants has been phased in gradually, and the Identity and Passport Service's network of interview offices only became fully operational from 66 offices from 28 January this year. The capacity of the network has been increased progressively since July last year. The final office is due to open in May.
	The interview requirement has been well received by customers who see this as a positive move in terms of safeguarding their identity. Given that the full volume of interviews is only now being achieved it would be premature to make an assessment of the effectiveness of face-to-face interviews in deterring and detecting fraud.

Personal Records: Private Sector

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legal or other constraints are imposed on private companies, including airport operators, in taking and storing fingerprints and other personal data from members of the public.

Jacqui Smith: The Government take data protection very seriously and keep the law on what measures are needed to strengthen the protection of personal data under continuous review.
	The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) provides a comprehensive legal framework of protection (including legal redress) for personal data, including fingerprints and other personal data. The DPA applies to all organisations that handle information about people, in both the public and private sectors. Therefore, it would be a matter for private companies, including airport operators, to satisfy themselves that they are acting in accordance with the DPA and other relevant legislation, including the Human Rights Act 1998.

Police: Firearms

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are trained in the use of arms; and how many are available in the Metropolitan police area.

Jacqui Smith: At 31 March 2007 there were 6,728 authorised firearms officers in England and Wales. 2,584 of those authorised firearms officers were in the Metropolitan Police Service.

Proceeds of Crime

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what uses the 125 million of criminal assets recovered in 2006-07 was put.

Jacqui Smith: The Home Office paid back 50 per cent. of recovered criminal assets to the police and other front-line agencies under the asset recovery incentive scheme. The scheme is designed to reward past performance and drive up future asset recovery activity. The remaining 50 per cent. contributed to core Home Office expenditure priorities, including policing and other asset recovery measures.

Proceeds of Crime

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what amount of assets recovered in 2006-07 has been paid back to  (a) the Serious and Organised Crime Agency,  (b) HM Revenue and Customs,  (c) the Crown Prosecution Service and  (d) police forces in England and Wales under the Assets Recovery Incentive Scheme.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			 million 
			 (a) Serious Organised Crime Agency 1.53 
			 (b) HM Revenue and Customs 12.01 
			 (c) Crown Prosecution Service 8.11 
			 (d) Police forces in England and Wales 15.49

Rape

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded instances of  (a) rape and  (b) domestic violence there were in (i) England and Wales and (ii) each police force area in each year since 1997; and what the clear-up rate for each was in each of those years.

Vernon Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 642-46W.

Rape

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) males and  (b) females aged (i) under 10, (ii) 11 to 15, (iii) 16 to 19, (iv) 20 to 25, (v) 26 to 30, (vi) 31 to 40, (vii) 41 to 50, (viii) 51 to 60 and (ix) 60 years and over were recorded as the victims of rape in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available centrally. The Home Office collects statistics on the number of rape offences recorded by the police but no information is available on the age of the victim.

Wildlife: Crime

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many wildlife crime officers there were in each year since 1997 for which figures are available, broken down by region.

Vernon Coaker: The requested information, on number of wildlife crime officers, is not collected centrally.
	Decisions on how wildlife crime is addressed, including decisions on resourcing and staffing, are matters for the police service. These decisions will be made by the chief constable in the light of the competing demands on the force and the priorities of the local communities.

Wildlife: Crime

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many wildlife crimes were committed in each year since 1997 for which figures are available, broken down by region; and how many successful prosecutions there were.

Vernon Coaker: Data on the number of wildlife crimes committed nationally are not held centrally. However, data on the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Protection of Badgers Act 1992, Deer Act 1991, Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulation 1997, and the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, by police force area, in England and Wales since 1997 can be viewed in the following table. This information is only held at a national level and cannot be broken down regionally.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Protection of Badgers Act 1992, Deer Act 1991, Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulation 1997, and the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, in England and Wales for the years 1997 to 2006( 1,2,3,4) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 1997 166 110 
			 1998 106 70 
			 1999 125 70 
			 2000 113 64 
			 2001 140 96 
			 2002 104 64 
			 2003 110 63 
			 2004 135 96 
			 2005 108 66 
			 2006 190 130 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes the following Statutes: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Protection of Badgers Act 1992 Deer Act 1991 Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulation 1997 Conservation of Seals Act 1970 (4) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.  Source: Court proceedings data held by RDSOffice for Criminal Justice ReformMinistry of Justice

Written Questions: Government Responses

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer Question 182354, on the National Identity Register, tabled by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden on 24 January 2008.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 13 March 2008
	I replied to the right hon. Member on 31 March 2008,  Official Report, column 610W.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Business: Grants

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many of the 3,000 business support schemes which the Government pledged in the 2006 Budget to reduce to 100 by 2010 have been closed down or amalgamated with other schemes.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government are on track to deliver no more than 100 schemes by 2010 and close or amalgamate existing schemes as the new products are launched. We announced the timetable in March.
	New, more effectively targeted, products will become available to business, starting this year. Business Link is gearing up to be the primary access channel to give business one main source of advice.
	The new product portfolio will be available no later than March 2009 and will address business issues:
	Export Credit Guarantee (March 2008), Skills Solutions for Business, Capital Investment Grants, Preparing to Export, Investigating New Overseas Markets, Getting The Most from Foreign Direct Investment (October 2008), Business Collaboration Networks, Shared Business Support Environments (November 2008), Debt Finance, Risk Capital, Finance Awareness and Capability (January 2009), Business Creation, Business Expertise for Growth, Promoting Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Waste Management, Protecting the Natural Environment, Local Community Business Coaching, Innovation Finance, and Innovation Collaborations (March 2009).

Coal

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has to review coal policy with particular reference to  (a) employment,  (b) carbon dioxide emission reduction and  (c) future energy demand; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government's Energy Policy is set out in the Energy White Paper Meeting the Energy Challenge published in 2007. There are no present plans to review this policy.

Construction

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many construction industry businesses there were in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: Estimates of the total number of construction businesses in the North East and UK are published by BERR. These data are shown in the following table, for each year that data are available from 1997 to 2006. Regional data are available for 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005. Data for 2007 will be published in July 2008.
	
		
			  Table 1: Total number of construction businesses, start of year calendar year 
			   North East  UK 
			 1997 n/a 829,065 
			 1998 21,215 728,705 
			 1999 14,870 683,530 
			 2000 n/a 678,515 
			 2001 11,635 691,800 
			 2002 n/a 733,610 
			 2003 20,470 792,050 
			 2004 n/a 862,515 
			 2005 23,680 923,770 
			 2006 n/a 920,780 
			  Source:  Small and Medium Enterprise Statistics for the UK and Regions 1997 to 2006, available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme 
		
	
	The number of construction businesses in the UK rose by 91,715 (11 per cent.) between 1997 and 2006. The number of construction businesses in the North East rose by 2,465 (12 per cent.) between 1998 and 2005.
	Below regional level the only data available are that on the number of VAT registered construction businesses, which are published by BERR. These data are shown in the following table for Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside local authority, the North East Government Office Region and the UK. Data for 2008 will be published in November 2008.
	
		
			  Table 2: VAT registered construction businesses, start of calendar year 
			   Jarrow constituency( 1)  South Tyneside  North East  UK 
			 1997 95 170 4,570 177,510 
			 1998 95 170 4,585 180,410 
			 1999 95 175 4,605 183,570 
			 2000 95 175 4,675 186,240 
			 2001 95 180 4,755 189,830 
			 2002 105 190 4,835 194,155 
			 2003 100 195 4,945 199,100 
			 2004 100 200 5,235 206,580 
			 2005 105 215 5,520 213,495 
			 2006 115 240 5,795 221,330 
			 2007 125 255 6,040 228,770 
			 (1) Data for Jarrow Constituency come from special analysis of the Inter Departmental Business Register.   Source:  Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2006, available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat 
		
	
	VAT registrations do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which was 60,000 at the start of 2006. Only 221,000 out of 921,000 UK construction enterprises (24 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2006.

Departmental Information and Communications Technology

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2008,  Official Report, column 328W, on departmental ICT, what advice he has given to departmental staff on the protection and security of personal electronic devices issued to them by his Department.

Gareth Thomas: Personal electronic devices are only issued to users following mandated training, which covers use, protection and storage of the device.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what criminal offences have been created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since July 2007.

Gareth Thomas: There have been no criminal offences created by primary legislation sponsored by this Department since July 2007.

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) permanent civil service posts,  (b) permanent non-civil service post and  (c) posts filled by temporary and agency workers there were in his Department in each month since May 2005.

Gareth Thomas: The Office for National Statistics publishes civil service employment statistics every quarter in the Public Sector Employment First Release. Table 6 of the publication provides a breakdown of employment by Government Department. It includes a breakdown of permanent and temporary/casual employees.
	The latest statistics published are for Q4 (December) 2007. These can be viewed at:
	CS_Employment_Qtr_4_2007.
	Previous statistics are available going back to Ql 2006. These can be viewed at:
	ONS Statistics
	Prior to 2006 civil service employment numbers were available on only an annual basis.
	Civil service statistics collected are the number of employees and not the number of posts. An employee covering multiple posts is counted only once and no information on vacancies is held.
	The ONS does not publish statistics for non-civil service posts broken down by Government Department.
	Information on employment agency workers could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his most recent estimate is of the unfunded liability in present value terms of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and on what assumptions for  (a) discount and  (b) longevity the estimate is based.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is not directly responsible for a public sector pension scheme.
	BERR's accounting officer has responsibility for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Pension Scheme. The information for the UKAEA Pension Scheme is set out in the scheme's resource accounts.

Departmental Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the unfunded liability in present value terms was of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1990-91.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is not directly responsible for a public pension scheme.
	BERR's accounting officer has responsibility for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Pension Scheme. The information on liabilities in present value terms are in the UKAEA Pension Scheme's resource accounts (since 2000-01), although these are produced under differing sets of assumptions (e.g. on longevity), so are not comparable across years.

Departmental Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) rate and  (b) cost was of employer contributions for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department has responsibility in each year since 1990-91; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is not directly responsible for a public sector pension scheme.
	BERR's accounting officer has responsibility for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Pension Scheme. Information on rate and cost of employer contributions is contained in the UKAEA Pension Scheme's resource accounts (since 2000-01).

Departmental Responsibilities

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what role the relevant shareholder executive has in determining the definition of the public tasks of his Department's agencies.

Malcolm Wicks: The shareholder executive has no remit for determining the definition of the public tasks of the Department's agencies. However, working with appropriate stakeholders, the shareholder executive ensures that, for each of the businesses in its portfolio, wholly or partly owned by Government, there are clearly articulated objectives reflecting both commercial and non-commercial aims.

Energy: Fees and Charges

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what steps the Government are taking to assist pensioners and vulnerable adults with rising energy costs;
	(2)  what steps the Government are taking to work with energy companies to minimise the effects of rising fuel bills for low income families, pensioners and vulnerable adults;
	(3)  what steps the Government plan to take to minimise further rises in energy costs.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 30 April 2008
	 We are concerned about the impact of higher prices on vulnerable people and we continue to encourage energy suppliers to adopt initiatives to restrict price rises for the most vulnerable.
	In Budget 2008, the Government said they would like to see the amount energy suppliers spend on social programmes increase to at least 150 million a year over the period ahead. A new voluntary agreement has recently been signed individually with the six major energy suppliers to treble their individual investment on social programmes in the next three years, reaching collective investment of 150 million by 2010-11. This will take spend to 100 million in 2008-09, 125 million in 2009-10 and 150 million in 2010-11.
	In addition, winter fuel payments helped keep 11.7 million people warm in winter 2006-07 and Budget 2008 announced an additional one-off payment of 100 to over-80s households and 50 to over-60s households in 2008-09.
	The Government do not interfere in commercial pricing decisions in the energy supply markets which are competitive markets. Ofgem's analysis suggests that recent energy price rises are due mainly to global demand for fossil fuels pushing up wholesale prices. The UK gas market is increasingly influenced by continental gas markets and the Government are supporting the European Commission's efforts to improve competition in those markets.
	Increased gas storage can help to protect the UK gas market from price shocks. The Government are taking steps to improve and streamline the regulatory regimes for constructing gas storage facilities through the Planning and Energy Bills, now before Parliament.

Energy: Skilled Workers

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment the Government have made of current and future skills needs in the  (a) nuclear waste industries and  (b) energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors.

Malcolm Wicks: The nuclear industry began a comprehensive review of its skills base in 2002. The Sector Skills Council Cogent became responsible for nuclear in 2004 and used the review to develop the sector skills agreement for the industry. The sector has also developed and launched a national Skills Academy for Nuclear, which will lead on training and skills development. The academy plans, on behalf of employers, to start learners on 1200 apprenticeships and 150 foundation degrees, while providing 4000 shorter courses to re-train existing staff over the next three years. It will also lead on delivery of the passport system to record skills and competencies. The needs for nuclear waste management are fully factored in to the academy's and employers' plans.
	Energy efficiency and renewables are mostly emerging technologies and it is hard to predict the exact timing of deployment. This makes it challenging to plan for skills delivery and, clearly, the production or large numbers of skilled people ahead of or behind demand for their services would be unhelpful. Employers and Sector Skills Councils are in early discussions about skills strategies (possibly leading to Skills Academies) for waste and environmental services, which would cover microgeneration and waste-to-energy, while the wind industry has just started discussions of its own. On the wider front, energy skills are largely generic and transferable, so people trained in the more developed skills programmes (nuclear, process and oil and gas) could provide a resource for renewable energy in the future.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what arrangements his Department has in place to monitor the extent to which support for carbon-intensive projects provided by the Export Credits Guarantee Department is consistent with Government policy on climate change.

Malcolm Wicks: ECGD's Statement of Business Principles, published in 2000, includes the commitment that ECGD:
	will ensure [its] activities take into account the Government's international policies, including those on sustainable development, environment, human rights, good governance and trade.
	The implementation of the Statement of Business Principles in relation to environmental issues is described further in ECGD's Case Impact Analysis Process (CIAP), which is published on the ECGD website:
	http://www.ecgd.gov.uk/ecgd_case_impact_analysis_process_-_may_2004-4.pdf

Fuel Poverty

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1447W, on fuel poverty, when he expects  (a) fuel poverty figures for 2006 and  (b) updated regional fuel poverty figures to be published.

Malcolm Wicks: Fuel poverty figures for 2006 will be available in the sixth annual fuel poverty strategy progress report later this year. Data used to estimate numbers of fuel poor households are derived from the annual English House Conditions Survey (EHCS). Regional figures (at Government office region level) will be published in an annex of detailed tables accompanying the 2006 report.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much and what proportion of the total administrative cost of the coal health compensation schemes had been spent on  (a) contractors and  (b) external legal advice as at 31 March 2008.

Malcolm Wicks: With respect to Coal Health Compensation schemes, the Department's administrative costs are broken down as follows as at 31 March 2008:
	
		
			  Contractors  Costs ( million)  Proportion (%) 
			 Departments Claims Handlers 450 74.7 
			 Records Management 69 11.5 
			 Consultants 32 5.3 
			 Website 4.5 0.7 
			 Other (Technical and special projects) 3 0.5 
			
			 Department's legal costs 44 7.3 
			 Total 602.5 100 
		
	
	Other costs with respect to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Vibration White Finger (VWF) that are not part of the Department's administrative costs are shown in the following table as at 31 March 2008. These are cost that would normally be borne by the plaintiffs but which, for these schemes, the Department has agreed to meet.
	
		
			   million 
			   COPD  VWF 
			 Claimants' representatives 994 179 
			 Medical 398 34

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the average settlement has been for  (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and  (b) vibration white finger claims for the 20 solicitors firms who have submitted the greatest number of claims under the Coalminers' Compensation Scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: The average settlement for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Vibration White Finger (VWF) by the 20 claimants' representatives who have submitted the greatest number of claims is shown in the tables as at 20 April 2008:
	
		
			  Average  c laims for COPD 
			  Claimants' representatives  Total claims  Total claims settled by payment  Average damages paid on claims settled by payment  () 
			 Beresfords Solicitors 80,820 58,393 2,468 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 57,963 43,646 9,182 
			 Hugh James 56,814 39,700 7,275 
			 Raleys Solicitors 48,893 33,749 5,935 
			 Browell Smith and Co. 32,983 23,304 6,436 
			 Avalon Solicitors 32,415 18,537 2,190 
			 Mark Gilbert Morse 25,727 19,635 7,388 
			 Union of Democratic Mineworkers 16,587 13,617 3,116 
			 Barber and Co. 14,092 11,084 2,720 
			 Watson Burton LLP 14,073 12,227 4,345 
			 Graysons Solicitors 12,968 11,233 4,489 
			 Ashton Morton Slack LLP 10,201 6,847 3,054 
			 Randell Lloyd Jenkins and Martin 9,849 7,436 5,680 
			 Delta Legal 9,424 6,635 2,164 
			 TLW Solicitors 8,098 6,734 3,154 
			 Moss Solicitors 7,943 6,083 4,115 
			 Ingrams Solicitors 7,926 5,920 3,493 
			 Birchall Blackburn 7,652 3,851 2,639 
			 Corries Solicitors 7,491 4,559 3,241 
			 Irwin Mitchell Solicitors 6,786 4,599 9,928 
		
	
	
		
			  Average  c laims for VWF 
			  Claimants' representatives  Total claims  Total claims settled by payment  Average damages paid on claims settled by payment () 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 21,074 16,303 16,217 
			 Browell Smith and Co. 16,463 11,689 10,644 
			 Beresfords Solicitors 11,620 7,194 10,325 
			 Union of Democratic Mineworkers 11,523 9,896 10,555 
			 Raleys Solicitors 11,279 9,675 12,014 
			 Hugh James 10,638 8,422 11,170 
			 Graysons Solicitors 8,700 7,064 15,448 
			 Moss Solicitors 7,397 4,984 10,411 
			 Watson Burton LLP 5,935 4,941 16,978 
			 Towells Solicitors 5,361 4,157 12,376 
			 Ashton Morton Slack LLP 5,276 3,321 9,306 
			 Kidd  Spoor Harper Solicitors 3,667 3,000 14,135 
			 Atteys 3,358 2,934 14,445 
			 O. H. Parsons and Partners Solicitors 2,702 2,203 10,985 
			 Irwin Mitchell Solicitors 2,364 1,978 14,078 
			 Shaw and Co. Solicitors 2,267 1,992 17,973 
			 Saffmans Solicitors 2,234 1,958 11,689 
			 Kingslegal 1,884 1,573 8,428 
			 Latham and Co. Solicitors 1,844 1,521 15,132 
			 Corries Solicitors 1,677 1,175 22,330

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which  (a) contractors and  (b) external law firms his Department has used in connection with the administration of the coal health compensation schemes.

Malcolm Wicks: With respect to the coal health compensation schemes, the Department's contractors and laws firms are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Role 
			  Name of contractor  
			 Healthcall (up to 2002) Medical assessment for COPD and VWF for General Damages 
			 Atos Origin (previously known as SEMA) Medical assessment contractor for COPD and VWF for General Damages 
			 Capita Healthcare Solutions Medical assessment for VWF services 
			 Capita Insurance Services (previously known as AON) Claims handling contractor 
			 RPS Business Healthcare Medical records 
			 Iron Mountain (previously known as Hays) Records management contractor 
			 Consultant from PWC Audit and compliance consultancy 
			 Consultant from Deloitte Operational advice 
			 Web Technology Group (previously Cable and Wireless) Hosting, development and delivery of coalclaims.com website 
			   
			  Law firms  
			 Nabarro Legal advice England and Wales 
			 McLure Naismith Legal advice Scotland

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) law firms and  (b) claims companies have submitted claims under the Coalminers' Compensation Scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: With respect to coal health compensation schemes, the Department has received claims from 787 law firms and two claims companies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people in Warrington, North constituency have had coal health claims settled since the scheme was introduced; and how much has been paid out to them.

Malcolm Wicks: Since the coal health compensation schemes were introduced the following number of claims have been registered and settled in the Warrington, North constituency for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and vibration white finger (VWF) as at 31 March 2008:
	 COPD
	Total claims registered: 294
	Total settlements (all categories): 259
	Total damages: 901,550
	 VWF
	Total claims registered: 62
	Total settlements (all categories): 60
	Total damages: 654,027

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many grant awards have been made under the domestic stream of the Low Carbon Buildings programme in each month since its inception.

Malcolm Wicks: Grant awards made each month under the domestic funding stream of the Low Carbon Buildings programme since its inception are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Month  Number of grant awards 
			 May 2006 389 
			 June 2006 161 
			 July 2006 509 
			 August 2006 512 
			 September 2006 402 
			 October 2006 1078 
			 November 2006 1051 
			 December 2006 346 
			 January 2007 266 
			 February 2007 199 
			 March 2007 191 
			 April 2007  
			 May 2007 299 
			 June 2007 290 
			 July 2007 240 
			 August 2007 201 
			 September 2007 213 
			 October 2007 193 
			 November 2007 196 
			 December 2007 118 
			 January 2008 234 
			 February 2008 181 
			 March 2008 174 
		
	
	There has been a decline in the number of grant awards being issued since the changes made at the re-launch of the household stream in May 2007, when amongst other measures, a pre-requisite to seek planning permission prior to applying for a grant was introduced to reduce the number of speculative applications being received. However the quality of applications being received to the programme is much improved with fewer offers being withdrawn or expiring now than at any time during the life of the programme.
	More recently we have announced that the household funding stream will remain open to new applicants until the funds are exhausted or to June 2010, whichever comes sooner. With the 2,500 cap per household, we believe this provides a simple and fair way of allocating funds to householders across all technologies and to increase the number of installations, which is an important aim for this demonstration programme. We believe with the extension, we will see increased take up, supported by easing of planning requirements implemented in April.

Nuclear Power Stations: Decommissioning

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether trustees appointed to oversee the implementation of a funding arrangement plan for the approved funded decommissioning programme for a new nuclear plant will be eligible to become a trustee for another nuclear plant decommissioning fund.

Malcolm Wicks: The Consultation on Funded Decommissioning Programme Guidance for New Nuclear Power Stations document, published on 22 February 2008, states that the Secretary of State will wish to be satisfied that suitable arrangements are in place for the governance of a fund. The governance arrangements will depend on the fund structure adopted and such arrangements should be set out in the Funding Arrangement Plans submitted to the Secretary of State for approval.

Oil

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the Government's estimate is on when global oil production will peak; and what information has been used to arrive at that estimate.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government do not estimate the timing of peak in global oil production. However, it is our assessment that the global oil reserves are sufficient to prevent total global oil production peaking in the foreseeable future provided sufficient investment in both upstream and downstream is forthcoming in order for production to keep pace with the growing global oil demand. This is consistent with the assessment made by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its 2007 World Energy Outlook (WEO).

Public Houses

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of the financial viability of public houses.

Gareth Thomas: My Department has made no such assessment.

Public Houses: Closures

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will commission research to determine whether there is a relationship between tied lease agreements and the number of  (a) pub closures and  (b) landlord bankruptcies; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Insolvency Service has a limited budget available for research and evaluation, working co-operatively with stakeholders and other parts of Government. It regularly reviews the priority areas for research funding and at present the relationship between tied lease agreements and pub closures/landlord bankruptcies is not an area targeted for research.

Renewable Energy: Finance

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the reasons for the level of applications for the UK Export Credits Guarantee Department's 50 million credit line for renewable energy projects; what steps he is taking to encourage more applications; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: ECGD's renewable energy initiative has generated a number of approaches since its introduction in 2003, though there has been no take up of ECGD cover so far. The main reason would appear to be that most opportunities to date for exporters in the emerging UK renewable energy sector have arisen in OECD markets where ECGD cover is not generally required.
	ECGD officials continue to work alongside colleagues in BERR, UKTI and relevant trade associations to promote awareness of the ECGD cover availability. As a result of contact with the British Wind Energy Association, ECGD is currently following up approaches for potential wind turbine exports with a combined value of up to 10 million.

Shares: Sales Methods

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the role of Companies House is in combating illegal share sale boiler room operations.

Gareth Thomas: Companies House fulfils the following functions under company law:
	The incorporation, dissolution and restoration of limited companies.
	The maintenance of a register of information filed by companies under the Companies Acts and related legislation, which it makes available for public inspection.
	This means that information from the companies register is available to law enforcement agencies, with whom Companies House has a working relationship.
	Companies House does not have a role in regulating sales of shares or in pursuing people who may have committed financial crime.

Small Businesses: Beer

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what support his Department makes available to micro-breweries, with specific reference to  (a) new businesses and  (b) social enterprises.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform does not have any specific measures to address the needs of micro-breweries. However, Business Link has been created to act as the primary channel for all businesses providing them with access to the help and support they need to start and develop their business. The service provides business with information, helps diagnose their needs and then identifies and connects them to appropriate public and private sector solutions.
	Businesses can access the service in a number of ways. The national website http://wwvv.businesslink.gov.uk, provides a wealth of information and tools designed for all types of business. This is supported by a network of advisers across England managed by the Regional Development Agencies but delivered locally. Advisers offer a mix of light touch and in-depth support services tailored to meet the specific needs of individual businesses. Access to these face-to-face services can be obtained by calling the national helpline on 0845 6009006.
	Responsibility for Social Enterprises now rests with the Office of the Third Sector (OTS). Officials in BERR, OTS and the Regional Development Agencies are working together to ensure organisations delivering Business Link services are aware of the needs of Social Enterprises and can identify suitable solutions specifically designed to meet their needs.
	In addition, on 12 March, Government published a renewed enterprise strategy which aims to make the UK the most enterprising economy in the world and the best place to start and grow a business. The strategy contains a number of measures to help small businesses, such as micro-breweries, to grow. These include measures to reduce regulatory burdens, for example by considering exempting small firms from new regulations, and measures to help businesses to access the finance they need to grow, for example the strengthening of the small firms loan guarantee scheme, which is available to businesses regardless of sector. The strategy is available at
	www.berr.gov.uk/enterprisestrategy.

Sustainable Development: Education

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what reports he has received of the Centre for Alternative Technology's Wales Institute for Sustainable Education initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: To the best of our knowledge no reports are listed, following checks on our electronic management record and correspondence systems, as being received by the Secretary of State or other Ministers on the Centre for Alternative Technology's Wales Institute for Sustainable Education initiative.

Sustainable Development: Education

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will provide 1.2 million of funding to the Centre for Alternative Technology to support completion of the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Davies) on 22 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1976W.

Veterinary Services: Prescriptions

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he plans to extend the prohibition on veterinary surgeons charging for prescriptions when it expires in October 2008.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 1 May 2008
	The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will be monitoring developments closely once the three year prohibition on prescription charges for veterinary medicines end in October 2008. It is a matter for the OFT to consider whether any farther regulatory action may be needed to ensure effective competition in this market.

World Trade Organisation

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make a statement on progress of the Doha round of talks at the World Trade Organisation.

Gareth Thomas: Negotiations are continuing among World Trade Organisation members in Geneva. The WTO is expected to issue revised negotiating texts on agriculture, non agricultural market access (NAMA) and services in May. This may enable Pascal Lamy, Director General of the WTO, to hold a ministerial meeting to reach agreement on agriculture and NAMA that could pave the way to signing an overall Doha deal by the end of this year.
	The Government are working with the EU Trade Commissioner, other EU member states and other WTO members to achieve an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha Round before the end of 2008.